Behind Blue Eyes
by zacks.little.puppy
Summary: For Cloud, it's hard when youre highly educated and not wanting to admit your sexuality to your friends and family. Mondays used to start the same until one day he's assinged to tutor. But the student is a juvenile who happens to be Zack Fair.
1. Chapter 1

Behind Blue Eyes

Chapter One

* * *

There wasn't a lot of excitement experiencing when you were an all A's kind of student. And since there were quite a few, there was a special class for them. And there was even a special class for the juvenile students, since there were way too many. Of course, the only reason they got their own class was because the teachers didn't want them to hurt any of the other students. The hallways weren't divided up with lockers but everyone's locker was close to people in their class. And since there were only about fifteen to twenty kids in the highly academic classes, they got the small wall of lockers. That was how the school was divided.

Being one of the smartest kids in your class, you didn't get that much homework. It also meant a lot more studying and a lot more tests. And along with that, every teacher loved you because of your intelligence and just about everyone in the school knew your name or face. But that also meant that there were kids at school that envied you. Cloud Strife was one of these people.

Every morning was the same to him. He would wake up and prepare himself for school, eat breakfast, say goodbye to his dad, and start walking to school. He hadn't wanted to be one of the smart kids at school, but that was how he was raised. His dad had told him that he wanted to see Cloud be successful in life. Cloud didn't really argue about being highly educated though. He didn't want to grow up in one of those gangs that spray-paint a logo on building walls and do drugs all night and day.

At school, Cloud didn't have that many friends. Of course, there weren't a lot of people that he liked. And by the way some looked at him, he could tell that they didn't like him, didn't know him, or were jealous of him. They were jealous because of his knowledge? That was kind of childish---no, it was childish. He was a junior at age seventeen, with two friends at school. One of them was in the normal classes and the other, Aerith, was in his classes. To him, it was needless to say that they were both girls and he was pretty sure he knew exactly why they were his friends. Aerith was just a nice person and Tifa, the other girl, used to live next to him. So it wasn't like they met on the playground at recess or their parents were once good friends when they were in school.

He met Tifa and Aerith at his locker, like always. He smiled at them, like always, and reached for the lock on his locker. It was either his brain, or just the way every Monday was, that told him everything that was about to happen. Tifa would ask about his weekend and Aerith would mention something about a boyfriend, whether it was about her or Tifa (or even Cloud).

_Sometimes I just wish there was more excitement in my life._ He saw Tifa's eyes trying to connect with his, to look into his thoughts and see what he was thinking. He mentally counted down to when Tifa would say something to him, _three, two, one…_

"How was your weekend, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

Cloud shrugged, not taking his eyes off of the lock as his fingers moved back and forth. "Same as it always is. What about you?"

She smiled at him. It wasn't a gentle smile like Aerith's, but a smile that told everyone that she was happy about something. Whether that something was about a boy or something new she found out, no one knew unless they asked her. "Mine was okay, a little boring, but okay."

He pulled on the lock and it came undone. He saw Aerith trying to connect to him the same way Tifa just did as he opened his locker. Aerith didn't usually try to connect like Tifa unless she wanted to lecture someone about something. And Cloud usually found that he was the lucky winner chosen by Aerith to receive a lecture about _something_.

"Hey Cloud, are you doing anything Friday?" Her green eyes were filled with hope as she asked this question. Sure, this was a different question than what she normally asked on Monday's, but she always asked him once a week.

He shrugged, his right shoulder jolting up and slouching back down. "I don't know yet." Cloud let his bag fall from his shoulder, catching it with the fold of his elbow, and hooked it onto the hook in his locker. He was about to grab his books when Aerith poked him in the back. He jumped up, startled by the sudden touch, and looked at her. "What?"

She shook her head innocently like the poke meant nothing. Cloud knew better though, her little pokes _always_ meant something. "I just wanted to know about a boyfriend. Are you finally going to accept it?"

Cloud sighed, shaking his head and turning back to his locker. He wasn't ready to come out or accept himself as a gay person. He didn't have a problem with it, he knew what he was attracted to, and it seemed that everyone else knew as well. It was just the idea that made his brain travel into a fantasy land that was always hard to get out of. He had been there once and he swore that he would never go back.

Aerith nodded in disappointment, already knowing the answer. "I see," she said. Tifa looked down at the huge block tiles on the floor. Cloud figured that she was probably disappointed as well.

Cloud just nodded, he didn't know what he should really say at a time like this. It was like one of those embarrassing moments in the movies when someone says something about someone's mom or dad and two seconds later your find out that that person is dead or ran off. And then his name was announced over the intercom: "Cloud Strife, please report to the principal's office, Cloud Strife."

Tifa and Aerith looked at him with wondering eyes. They knew that he would never do anything to get himself in trouble, but there wasn't really a reason the principal would want to see him either. Yeah, she was a nice lady and all, but still. No one really saw her that much unless the school was having a pep rally or something of the other. He just shrugged at them and closed his locker door, not bothering with the lock that he had set on the top shelf, and started walking down the hallway. He swore he could almost feel everyone's eyes burning on him and it set a strange trembling in the pit of his stomach.

Okay, he would be lying if he told himself that he wasn't wondering why the principal wanted to see him or what she wanted to talk about. But this was going to be awkward. The only time he remembered being close to her was during the stupid and pointless pep rallies that he didn't enjoy and when she congratulated students with awards and all that other great stuff. Talking face to face with her was beyond different, especially if they were going to be in a small room together within three to four feet apart.

When he got to the main office, the attendance lady smiled at him and told him to have a seat. He sat on the small sofa, since there was a girl that looked ready to kill someone sitting in a chair (that was next to an empty chair). The girl gave him a glare that a snake could probably use on a mouse and the mouse would fall over, scared to death. The woman behind the desk smiled at him again and he felt a shiver run up his back. He didn't really like the special treatment other teachers gave him, but he knew why they did it. And as he sat there, he couldn't help but think of what was about to happen when…

A door to the principal's office opened and couple walked out with the principal. By the look of their faces and the glare the girl sent them, Cloud figured that this was her parents. They walked over to the girl and she got up and left with them, but it was more like she stormed out while they followed her. It was then that Cloud realized that the principal was watching him, as he could feel her blue eyes pouring on him. His attention quickly turned towards her and she smiled at him, folding her hands together in front of her.

"Cloud," she enthused in a high-pitched voice, "it's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you from your teachers and I must say that you are very much how they described you." At this, Cloud blushed a bit. She noticed the small shade of pink in his cheeks and chuckled lightly like a teenage girl. Only three seconds after that, she was back to being serious. "Well then, would you like to join me in my office so we can talk more?" Cloud nodded and followed her. "You can choose to sit or stand." He chose to sit in a chair across from her desk as she shut the door and sat across from him. "Cloud, I wanted to talk to you about your knowledge."

Cloud felt his throat feel heavy. "Is it bad?"

She shook her head, chuckling lightly. "No, it's good. I already talked to your father about this and he thinks it's a good idea. But I wanted to hear what you have to say first." She paused for a moment, taking in a deep breath. "How would you feel about tutoring? I want this boy to success in graduating next year, but he's making it difficult." She shook her head, putting her hands on the desk with them folded together.

"How old is he?" Cloud asked.

She smiled "He's your age, Cloud."

"Do I know him?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't think you would know him. He's a juvenile student." Cloud made an _'o'_ shape with his mouth, looking at his hands in his lap. His fingers started to circle each other a bit. "Cloud, I hope this is okay with you."

Cloud nodded. "How _big_ is he, exactly?" He saw the woman shrug as he looked down at the floor.

"I guess it depends on what you mean by _big_. He is a big boy, I will admit that, but violence isn't really this thing. He can be quite protective and…passionate, actually. He's more of a devil-may-care kind of guy and likes to tease…"

Cloud felt himself sigh in relief. But something told him in his head that that wasn't all of it. "Has he gotten into fights?" He asked, looking up at her.

It was like the woman could read his mind. "He isn't dangerous Cloud, I promise. I wouldn't be asking you to do this if he was. He's swung a punch before, I'll admit, but he would not hurt you. I would make sure of it. Actually, he'd probably like you quite a lot."

Cloud nodded. Something was still missing, sexuality. He sighed. He couldn't believe he was about to ask this but he had to know. Would she even know? "Um…is he…you know, gay?"

She made a surprising happy face, which was quite awkward coming from his principal. And all this time, he thought that principals were supposed to be mean people that shouted all the time. "I should probably tell you that he is, indeed, gay. Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Did you talk to my dad about anything else?" It would be just like his dad to try and get him close to a gay person to make him accept himself or even a boyfriend.

She sighed, pursing her lips in thought. "He may have mentioned something about you coming out, but that's it."

Cloud nodded, wanting to change the subject. He wasn't exactly comfortable having this sort of conversation with an adult at school, especially an adult that happened to be his principal. "When do I start?" he asked.

She smiled. "You can start today if you like." Her smile brightened when Cloud nodded. "Oh, and don't worry about your studying assignments. I've already talked to your teachers about that and you'll have the last hour of the day to work on your own studies." Cloud just nodded again. "Okay then, let me escort you to his class and we'll start introductions. I'll tell you his name so you don't have to wait," she said, getting up from her chair. Cloud followed her in pursuit. "His name is Zackary Fair, but I should warn you that he prefers Zack. And his energy is like a bouncing puppy."

In his head, he was wondering about this Zack. If he was like a puppy, would he turn into a vicious dog? Cloud ignored his thoughts and followed the woman out of the office and down the hallway. They soon were walking down the juvenile hall, which scared Cloud a bit. They stopped by one of the first classes and Cloud peeked inside through the window. The whole room was filled with boy sitting on desks or chairs backwards, girls with their headphones, and everyone looked ready to beat the next sucker that pissed them off.

"I'll go in and get Zack for you. I understand if you're scared."

Cloud just stared at the classroom. He hoed that Zack wouldn't be too hard to handle. Of course, the principal had said that he wasn't violent. He hoped that she was right. Violence wasn't something he'd be able to handle. She came back about a minute later with a boy with extremely spiky hair. Cloud held his breath, knowing that this was Zack.

"Zack, I want you to meet Cloud. He's going to be helping you with the assignments you choose to not do, which would be every one of them."

Zack cringed a little at her words. "Not my fault there's anyone smart in that class to copy off of."

"Zackary, how many times have I told you that cheating will get you no where?"f

"Hey," he whined, "you never said that about school, just my relationships."

The principal sighed, raising her hands to her eyes and shaking her head. It was then that Cloud noticed the resemblance between them. It could've been just a coincidence, but it was like they were related somehow.

She put her hands at her sides and looked at Cloud. "I hope he won't be too much trouble for you. Now I will ask you if you want to work in that room," she pointed to the class Zack came from, "or somewhere you two can work peacefully.

"I choose peacefully," Zack blurted.

"I wasn't asking you, Zack."

"You're saying that my opinion doesn't matter? Ow, that really hurts." Zack made a puppy pout, sticking his lip out and widening his eyes, holding his chest, where his heart was, sympathetically.

"I'm going to ignore that Zack." She turned her attention to Cloud again, not noticing Zack's pout increasing. "Have you decided?"

Cloud nodded. "I think it would be best for a different room."

Zack perked up. "See, he agrees with me, Tiffany."

For a few seconds, Cloud was confused. And then he figured that Tiffany must be the principal's name. _Wait, he knows her name?_

"Whatever Zack, and Cloud, you can use this room," she pointed to a room that wasn't so far away from Zack's and was across from his class. Cloud nodded and she smiled, clapping her hands together once. "Well, I'll let you two get started. Oh, and Cloud, I want to see you after school today or some time between lunch and I want to hear about how today goes."

She smiled more and turned to walk away when Cloud nodded. Cloud looked over at Zack and watched him…watch _him._ It was then that he started to notice Zack's features. He had really long spiky black hair and eyes that looked like he had broken lots of hearts. And maybe he had, too. And for someone to be in a juvenile class, that didn't have a lot of smarts up there, Zack caught onto Cloud's stares. Maybe he was used to this sort of thing or maybe it had happened before. _Or maybe he's just not as dumb as everyone thinks he is._

"So are we going to get my brain to working or are you going to stare at me all day? I know I'm sexy, but come on."

Cloud looked away and blushed. He swore he heard Zack's smile creeping onto his face. And when he looked up, sure enough, Zack was smiling at him.

"We should probably get started," Cloud mumbled but Zack understood what he said.

"Right, lead the way, teach."

Cloud ignored the comment and started walking to the classroom. Did the principal really trust them by their selves in a room…alone? More importantly, did she really trust Zack? When they entered the room, Cloud saw that it was a lot like Zack's other classroom. Only this one didn't have people wanting to beat each other up and it was a lot cleaner.

Zack walked over to one of the desks in front and turned it around, facing the desk behind it. Zack did more rearranging before sitting in the seat where he was facing Cloud. Cloud sighed, telling himself to get it over with, and drug himself to sit across from Zack. _What now_, he asked himself stupidly. What was he supposed to do? He really didn't know. _Ask him what classes he's taking and which ones he needs help with,_ an inner voice inside him said.

"What classes are you taking?" _Gah, I sound like a freaking geek._

Zack didn't taking anything of it and seemed to brighten up a bit. "I don't know, some history class, Algebra two maybe, and others."

Was Zack really this bad at paying attention? Or was he just lazy? Maybe he was both and maybe he just didn't feel like making something of his life.

"I see," Cloud said, shaking his head. He had to get this over with. "So which one do you want to work on first?"

Zack's eyes shot up at him. "Are you serious? Aw, c'mon Cloud. Can't we at least get to know each other first before we do anything? Pretty please, with strawberries on top?"

"Um…sure, I guess." But what was he supposed to say? How were they supposed to get to know each other like this? It had been different with Tifa and Aerith. Tifa was his neighbor and Aerith was in his classes. This was different.

And Zack seemed to notice that. He grinned at the blond, making him shift in his seat uncomfortably. After all, Cloud knew that this guy was gay. _And it's possible that he might have a thing for me._ Cloud ignored his thoughts, hoping that they would go away soon. His thoughts were interrupted, thank goodness, when he heard Zack chuckle.

"Would it help if I asked the questions and you just answer them?" Cloud nodded. "Okay, little shy thing, first question: why are you so smart?"

_What kind of question is that?_

"My dad wanted me to be successful in life. He didn't want me to screw everything up and then regret it ten years later."

Zack looked like he was thinking about that for a few seconds. "What about your mother? I'm sure she would want you to be successful too, right?"

Cloud looked down. The only people that knew about his mother were Tifa and Aerith, his dad (of course), family members, a few teachers, and any student that was smart enough to see right through Cloud. Of course, there weren't a whole lot of smart kids at his school that could see right through him so that just left Aerith. "My mother died a long time ago when I was a baby."

Zack's eyes widened a little and all that happiness in his eyes seemed to disappear. "Wow, now I feel bad for asking. Okay, I won't ask you anymore questions about family because I know how you must feel right now."

"Yeah," Cloud asked, sighing. He met Zack's eyes; they only lit up a little. "What about you?"

"My parents," Cloud nodded. "That is a secret I will not tell you…yet. Okay, moving on, what's your favorite color?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know I don't really pay attention to colors."

"Okay, well if you had to pick one, which one would it be?" Zack asked.

"I don't know; blue maybe. Why is this important again?"

"This is important because I want to know more about you if we're going to be seeing each other everyday. You know, because of the tutoring," Zack assured. "Okay, one more question."

"Only three?" he asked.

Zack smiled. The light in his eyes was back and Cloud felt somewhat relieved. Happy-Hyper Zack was better than Sad Zack. "We can play twenty questions, but that might take a while." Zack began, drawing circles on the table with his finger. "So I'll just ask you three questions everyday."

"Oh," was all Cloud could say.

"Yeah, so, last question: are you gay?"

The question hit Cloud hard. It felt like he had run into a brick wall. Why did Zack have to ask that question? _It's because he's gay, you moron! _Cloud felt like an idiot; of course that was it. _He wants to know so he can get into your pants. _I doubt that, Cloud told his conscious. What would happen if it was true?

"I can tell that's not the type of question I should have asked," Zack said. "By the long silence, though, I can tell that you are or you're in denial."

"Denial," he replied. It slipped as it came to his mind and he couldn't stop himself or take it back.

"I see; and, hey, don't worry. I'm not going to molest you, stalk and rape you, or tell you to suck my dick. That's just wrong. Well, not unless you want me to."

Happy-Hyper Zack was back and what he just said made Cloud blush. He quickly nodded. "Are you ready?" he asked, changing the subject.

Zack stood up, going to where a pile of books were neatly stacked. "Hey, I recognize this book," he said, picking a book up and walking back over to Cloud. "We read this thingy every other day. Don't ask me what we're reading because I don't pay attention. These things usually come in handy for a pillow and that's when I fall asleep. I did have an odd dream about this historic dude once. Another one was about these ladies."

Cloud bit his bottom lip to keep from laughing. He didn't know whether Zack was being serious or sarcastic. Either way, he was pretty comical. "It's called history class, Zack."

Zack rolled his eyes. "I figured that. It doesn't take a genius to know that, Cloud. And I suppose that the one with all those numbers is math." Cloud smiled, blushing. "Hey, he does have a smile and that's one serious blush you got there. I bet that's the first time you've smiled since you woke up this morning. Am I right?"

Cloud shrugged, trying to wipe the smile off of his face. "Probably, I don't remember."

"Oh yeah," Zack cheered, putting the book on the table. He fisted his hands together, raised them in front of his chest and pulled them back. "I was the first to make you smile today." Zack sat down, raising his hand up to face-level. Cloud gently raised his own hand and tapped it lightly against Zack's. Zack grinned. "Not the kind of high-five I was expecting but that's a starter."

Cloud put his elbow on the table and raised his hand to his cheek. He hoped that he wasn't blushing too much. "Um, okay."

Zack stood up again and went to the stack of books. He picked up the same book and walked back over to Cloud, handing the book to him. "Okay, let's start this baby."

It took about ten to fifteen minutes before Zack actually recognized something about what the class read. Cloud asked Zack if the pictures looked familiar, hoping to get something. When Zack said that they did, they began reading. Well, Cloud read out loud to Zack as he followed along.

"It's easier for me to understand something if someone's telling me than me reading it. Does that make sense?" Zack had said.

Cloud didn't object though. He knew that some people were like that and quite a few students still used their bookmarks or fingers to underline what line they were reading. Some of them even had to read out loud by whispering or mouthing the words while they read. He didn't know why Zack thought that he wouldn't understand that. He wasn't a cruel person. He understood a lot of things about other students that other kids in his class didn't.

Cloud read to Zack for about forty-five minutes before he realized that Zack was asleep on his book. The page was on the previous page that Cloud had just finished reading and Zack's skin was almost _planted_ onto the paper. Cloud shook his head, sighing a little but he remembered that was why he was here in the first place. What he didn't understand was why another teacher couldn't do this instead of him. _Probably because Zack has a hard time paying attention to teachers_, something in his head told him. He shrugged, considering the thought before poking Zack on the cheek that wasn't buried into the book.

"Huh…what happened?" Zack asked sleepily. He looked up, his face sticking a little to the page. "Damn it," he muttered, rubbing his cheek. Cloud tightened his lips to not smile at Zack's reaction. "Did I fall asleep?"

Cloud nodded. "Do you remember anything that _I_ read to you?" Zack looked up at the ceiling, squinting a little, and pursed his lips together. Cloud heard him mutter something that sounded like _damn_. "Don't hurt your self, Zack," he joked.

Zack looked back at him. "No promises there buddy. Anyway, were we talking about groundhogs?"

Cloud bit his lip to keep from smiling. "No Zack, how can we be talking about groundhogs when we were reading history?"

Zack shrugged. "Maybe we were talking about the history of groundhogs? I don't know."

Cloud shook his head. "Zack, you know you're very dense, right?"

"Yeah I know, don't make fun of me, gosh."

_That's kind of hard to do,_ Cloud thought before pushing the thought away. "I can't promise you that."

The rest of their day together was like that. Zack would say sarcastic things to Cloud that made the blond smile. And that just made Zack get so excited that he'd brag about how he made Cloud smile.

* * *

Will be updated!!  
I hate to post this so soon but my computer is being dumb.


	2. Chapter 2 UPDATED!

Chapter Two

* * *

Cloud did as, uh, Tiffany asked him to. At the end of the day he gathered his things from his locker and walked to the office for the second time that day. She was outside of her office talking to other staff members. He heard her excuse herself from the conversation and saw her walking to him. She still wore that same smile on her face, just like Zack, and he wondered if she always smiled, just like he wondered the same thing about Zack.

"Nice to see you again, Cloud. Would you like to discuss today's progress in my office?" Cloud nodded and followed her into the room. This time, they both chose to stand. "So was Zack good for youf today? I would ask him but he would just take it from his point of view and say that he was."

Cloud was a bit amused by this. "Yeah, he was okay but he kept falling asleep. And when we were on history, I guess he dazed out into another world and fell asleep. I woke up him up and asked him what we had just read." Cloud did his best not to smile but he couldn't help it. "He asked if we were talking about groundhogs."

Tiffany laughed a little. "I guess I should've told you that he has a short attention span. But that's Zack for you. I think the only reason he's gotten this far is because the teachers are afraid that they'll get fired if he fails. I wouldn't do that though."

"Why would you say the teachers are afraid?" Although Cloud was sure he already knew the answer, he still wanted to hear it.

"I'm his aunt. For some reason, people don't want to believe or accept that when I tell them." She frowned a little at this. The frowning didn't suit her, and if her smile was just like Zack's, then Zack's frown was probably like hers. He had seen the puppy face and eyes, and it was tempting to not reach out and embrace him. Cloud shook his head.

"I kind of thought you were related somehow." Cloud continued when he saw her confused eyes, _that were so much like Zack's_. "I saw the resemblance; he looks a lot like you."

Tiffany smiled. "That's good to hear. My brother, his father, was always telling people that he looked like _him_, not _me_." She paused, as if she was remembering the memory, but she shook her head. "If you're wondering why I don't have _Fair_ on my desk and nametag, it's because I took my mother's maiden name a long time ago. I would tell you more, if you like, sometime. But it's a long story that is hard for me to put in one sentence. It was a good idea when I did, Zack might be getting bad treatment if a lot of people knew that we were related, especially that close."

Cloud nodded, understanding what she meant. _She's bubbly like Zack too; maybe that's a bad thing._

"You know Cloud, Zack needs all the help that he can get and you could use some one to relieve your stress while studying. How would you like to come over to my house, or he can visit you, and you could help each other for an hour or more?"

Cloud considered this. What was the worst thing Zack could do, show him gay porn? Since Tiffany had said that he wasn't the violent type, he probably wouldn't try to kiss or rape him.

_I'm not going to molest you, stalk and rape you, or tell you to suck my dick. That's just wrong. Well, not unless you want me to._

Cloud shook his head at the memory. "I'll ask my dad, even though he probably won't care." _Of course he won't care. Knowing him, he probably set this whole thing up to make me come out._

If it was even possible, her smile brightened. "That's great! I could give you my address," she grabbed a pen and paper from her desk, "but you could probably easily find it." She wrote something on the white sheet and handed it to him. "It's the yellow house, with a swing on the deck, right across from the library."

Cloud nodded, knowing what she was talking about. He'd seen the house before. It wasn't too far away from his house.

"Thank you Cloud, I know that I'll probably have to repay you in some way."

Cloud shook his head. "No, it's okay." And with that, he walked out of the office and then out of the school, only to come face to face with the school bully, Seifer.

Seifer wasn't someone anyone would want to mess with. Cloud found that out by observing _and_ experiencing. Seifer was about to make his move when Zack stepped out of the building, eyeing him. Seifer gave Zack an evil smirk before turning around and leaving. Zack watched him carefully, walking over to Cloud. The blond shifted his backpack as Seifer's form started to disappear.

"Don't worry about Seifer, okay?" Cloud nodded, looking up at the taller boy. "Okay, so do you need me to walk with you in case anymore bullies decide to jump on you?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, I think I'll be fine."

The other pursed his lips. "You said, _I think_, which means you're not sure."

_You might as well do what he says and go with it!_ Whoa, that was a new voice inside his head. Usually it was screaming at him to shut up, stop thinking about other thinks beside his education, or just plain told him to shut the hell up. This was new.

Zack put a hand on Cloud's shoulder, shaking his head. "Tough luck trying to get rid of me, friend." Friend, he said _friend_. Does he want to be friends? "You wouldn't last three seconds in my world and that's where you're standing right now."

Cloud nodded. "Okay," he said. "But I've been standing here for quite a while now."

Zack grinned, removing his hand and started walking, Cloud following beside him. "Yeah, because I saved your butt from getting kicked," Zack said. Cloud shook his head and looked down as a small blush hit his cheeks. "You know, by the way I woke up this morning, I knew my aunt was up to something." Zack shook his head. "Well, at least she didn't send me to a juvenile academy."

"Your aunt is the principal, right?" Zack looked at Cloud with a questioning look on his face before nodding. Cloud almost laughed when he noticed that Zack had the same confusing look as Tiffany. "She told me just a little bit ago."

Zack grinned. "You mean before I saved your ass, right?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, something like that," he said.

They continued to walk until they reached the library. Cloud looked at the small yellow house, knowing that that was Zack's home. He looked over at the other teenager, wondering what he was going to do or say. They way he saw it, Zack would say, _"That's my house over there,"_ and point to the house, _"well, see you tomorrow."_ But that didn't happen.

"Well, lead the way, Spike. Don't leave me hanging."

Cloud continued to walk to his house, looking at Zack. "Spike?" he asked.

Zack nodded, tugging at a spiky strand of Cloud's hair. "See, your hair is so spiky so I nicknamed you Spike."

Cloud scoffed. "You're one to talk, _Spike_," Cloud said, pointing at Zack's hair.

Zack laughed. "Ha, guess I am." It was silent as they crossed the street. Zack watched Cloud as he looked down at his feet when stepping up onto the sidewalk. The blond was so gentle with himself, so cautious. It was like he was afraid of falling. _What kind of falling though?_ Zack asked himself and mentally slapped himself. _Stop thinking that way; he hasn't accepted himself to _himself_ yet. _"So what does Seifer have against you? Is it because you're smart?"

Cloud shrugged, shifting his backpack. "I don't know, I just thought he found it amusing to pick on other people. My friend Aerith thinks it's because I'm friends with Tifa."

"Who's Tifa?" Zack asked. He had heard the girl's name before and it sounded familiar.

"She's my other friend," _should I mention that I only have two friends?_ "She and Aerith are really the only friends I have."

"Hey, you can count me as a friend; I promise I'm not a bad person. But I can't promise that I'll tease you in some way."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, you three are the only friends I have. Tifa's the girl with really long black hair and has big breasts." Cloud blushed a bit at saying that. He didn't really want to say that out loud to Zack, but it was like Zack would care anyway. And that was really the only way to describe Tifa without going into a list of details.

Zack nodded. "Okay, I've seen her before. Well, that explains one reason Seifer hates you. Anyway, what about your friend Aerith? What's she like?"

Cloud shrugged. "She's in the same classes as I am, she's sweet, and she wears her long hair in a braid with a pink ribbon."

Zack hummed in thought. "I don't think I've ever seen her before. You'll have to introduce me to your friends, Cloud, especially if we're going to be friends." Cloud nodded. "You do know that I'm not going to pass on that. I'll keep bugging you until you finally do introduce me."

Cloud nodded again. "I figured that. Well, Tifa actually lives next to me, if that helps any. She's probably not home though, I don't know. She has other friends she hangs out with after school."

"Then why don't you hang out with them?"

"I'm already outnumbered by her and Aerith; I don't need to be overpowered by girls. And if I was out with myself, I'm pretty sure they'd be dragging me to every mall in town."

Zack chuckled. "Not all girls are like that, Cloud."

Cloud just shook his head. He focused his house on a familiar white house on his right. He felt Zack watching him and turned to look at the other. "This is my house," he said softly.

Zack nodded, trying to find the right words. But all he could think of was cool or sweet. What was he supposed to say at this point?

"Do you want me to meet your dad or can I go home now?"

Cloud shrugged. "It's up to you."

Zack sighed. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Cloudy."

Cloud grimaced a little when Zack ruffled his hair and walked away. What was up with all the nicknames? Did he do this to everyone? _Stop asking so many questions!_ Cloud shook his head, looking back at Zack before walking into his house. When he closed the door behind him, he noticed his dad was relaxing in a recliner, reading a book. His father almost instantly put the book down when he heard Cloud come in. He smiled at him and got up from his relaxation, marking his page by folding the top corner in his book before setting it down.

"Cloud, how was school today?"

Again, Monday's usually started out the same. Everything that didn't involve Zack or talking to the principal was normal. Whenever he got home, his dad would ask him how his day at school was. Maybe he was trying to start a conversation or maybe he wanted to know if Cloud had finally accepted himself.

Cloud shrugged. "Okay, I guess." Cloud walked to his room before turning to look at his dad. "Hey, did you tell the principal about me coming out?"

His dad put a hand over his mouth. "Oops, I guess I said that out loud." Cloud rolled his eyes and entered his room, his father following him. "I'm sorry, Cloud, I couldn't help it. It's not that she's a bad person anyway, her nephew is gay and that's how all of it started. She called me asking if I would be okay with you tutoring her nephew, when I said yes she mentioned that he was gay and I just burst before I realized it."

Cloud shook his head, throwing his backpack on his bed. "It's okay, I was just surprised."

His dad smiled before hugging him. Did he need to mention that his dad was gay? "And before you ask," he said, pulling away, "I did not do this to play matchmaker. She just said that it could help your permanent record. I also didn't agree to it hoping the kid would make you accept yourself, even though I do wonder if he could."

Cloud sighed. "Dad…you're rambling."

The man blushed. "Sorry, Cloud. Hey, are you hungry?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a little," Cloud said.

His dad smiled. "Okay, good, but I want you to tell me about this boy first. I want to know your honest opinion about him. Is he cute?"

"Dad," Cloud whined, exiting his room and walking to the kitchen. He sat at the table as his dad followed and started to prepare cooking.

"What," he said, mocking his son. "It's just a question. You don't have to be gay or straight to answer it."

Cloud shook his head. "I don't know I didn't really pay attention. I did notice that he is quite the character though, he fell asleep on my a few times while I was trying to help him."

He heard his dad lightly chuckle. "It sounds like he's cute. Was that him walking with you?"

Cloud crossed his arms over the table and buried his in them, his face turning crimson. He swore he could feel his blood bubbling and popping bubbles. His dad laughed. _Damn it,_ Cloud thought, _I knew he'd be watching._ He _should've_ expected his dad to watch from the window and acted like he was relaxing when he walked into the house.

"Cloud, you're not answering me. Was that him? Because if it was, than he _was_ cute. It makes me wish that you were out with yourself."

He looked up at his dad and his mouth fell open. Was his dad saying what he thought he was saying? Oh no, please no.

"Dad, I have a pretty good feeling what you're thinking about right now and the answer is no."

His dad sighed. "I was only thinking of what it would be like if you were out with yourself and you two would be a couple."

Cloud felt himself blush again. First his Monday morning starts out different, then he meets the biggest puppy ever, almost gets jumped by a bully, has a cute guy walk him home because he has no chance of getting rid of him, and now his dad was teasing him about the guy, Zack. Wait, back up about half of that sentence. Did he just say _a cute guy walk him home_? Double-check, triple-check. Holy shit, he did.

"Dad," Cloud whined. He had no idea why he had just whined to his father. It was very out of character for him, but it happened to everyone. At least, that's what Aerith told him.

The man looked at his son. "What, what'd I say now?"

Cloud shook his head. "You said he was cute, did you have to mention that?" _You just said he was cute too, dumbass._

Cloud's dad smiled. "Well from what I saw, he was rather cute. Why are you so embarrassed, Cloud?"

Cloud sighed. "I don't know, guess a part of me thinks that you purposely set this whole thing up."

He heard his dad sigh, "Why do you think I would do that, Cloud?" Cloud shrugged. "I wouldn't try to set you up with something or someone if I knew you weren't comfortable with it."

Blue eyes narrowed at the man. "You promise?"

His dad smiled and chuckled a little. "Yes, I promise. But I won't promise you that I won't stop myself from doing it if I think it's necessary."

Cloud rolled his eyes, putting his head down on the table. His thoughts went from school, to studying, to Zack, to school again, to thinking about what Aerith was always telling him, Seifer almost beating up his butt, Zack, Tifa punching some random dude in the chest, and back to Zack all over again.

"_If you would just accept the fact that you're gay, you won't have to live like this, Cloud. There are plenty of cute guys in this school and I'm pretty sure that quite a few of them are gay. It's nothing to be afraid or ashamed of, Cloud," _this is what Aerith was always telling him. Of course the speech went longer with stuff that kids learned on those happy shows and trying to be someone you're not.

"_Do I have to beat your ass just so you'll finally come out to yourself and everyone around you? I swear I will if I have to. Don't make me do this to you, Cloud. I really don't want to,"_ that was Tifa's _advice_. She'd never really beaten him up but she did punch him in the arm once or twice, hard enough to leave a bruise.

"_Hey, you can count me as a friend; I promise I'm not a bad person. But I can't promise that I'll tease you in some way," _Zack had said.

Of course he wasn't a bad person, Cloud told himself. If Zack was a bad person, Cloud would've come home with double bruises from Zack and Seifer. And teasing was just Zack's persona.

* * *

The first thing he heard when he walked through the door was his aunt's _gay boyfriend _calling out to him from the bathroom. _Please don't tell me he's got some young kid in there with him_. But that was just a joke. Rick wasn't really the type of guy to sneak someone ten to twenty years younger than him into a bathroom. He was actually a good guy, when he wasn't sleeping on the couch next to you and hogging the whole thing. Zack shook his head and hollered back at Rick as he walked out of the bathroom.

"What were you doing in there, huh?" Zack teased.

Rick rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Nothing, Tiffany wanted me to change one of the mirror lights. I don't even know why she has those things."

Zack shrugged. "Well don't ask me, but why did she want you to change it?"

Rick almost laughed while thinking about it. "She told me that she's too damn short to reach the stupid thing." He shook his head. "And she also told me that she wants to talk to you when she gets home."

Zack plopped himself down onto the couch and reached for the remote on the coffee table. "Uh-oh, what'd I do now?" he asked, flipping through the channels.

Rick shrugged, sitting next to Zack with a sigh. "I don't know, she didn't say. Why, what _did_ you do today?"

The younger one shrugged as he finally left the remote alone when he saw that one of his favorite movies was on. Well, it was actually almost over but he didn't care. "Let's see… I went to school, almost got into a fight, Tiffany gave me a tutor, fell asleep, ate lunch, fell asleep, went back to class, saved the kid's ass, walked him home, and came home."

"Is he cute or something for you to save his ass and walk him home?"

Zack shrugged, nodding a little. "Yeah, I guess he is cute. And I can tell that's its going to be fun teasing him."

"Huh," Rick said, adding a small chuckle, "what does he look like?"

"Short, shorter than me at least, blond spiky hair, big blue eyes, and very fragile."

He saw Rick smiling in the corner of his eye. What was with the smile? "Sounds like Zack has a bit of crush on him?" he teased.

Zack shook his head. "Are you sure we're not related?"

The man nodded. "If we were related Zack, you wouldn't be in school and everyone would hate us."

"Mm, I don't think that _everyone _could hate us."

Rick just shrugged as Tiffany entered the house, purse bumping lightly against her side as she walked into the house. She looked at Rick for a few seconds before glaring at Zack. Zack winced a little, trying to hide behind the older man but he had gotten up to get something to drink. Now it felt like his aunt was burning him with her mind.

"What'd I do this time?" he asked.

"Exactly Zack, what _did_ you do?" When Zack shrugged, not about to repeat the list of things he'd done today again, Tiffany sighed. "Cloud told me that you fell asleep on him."

"Who's Cloud?" Rick asked, rearranging the insides of the fridge.

"Zack's new tutor that _he fell asleep on more than twice_ today," Tiffany scolded.

Zack looked down, that face turning into a puppy face. "Not my fault I got lost while he was reading, everything's too boring."

Tiffany sighed, walking into the kitchen. Zack followed her, knowing that she'd be even more pissed if he didn't. But she didn't say anything to him. Zack saw Rick finally pick something, rolling his eyes when he saw that it was a can of Pepsi. _Seriously, _Zack thought, _people still drink that?_ Hypocrite, something told him, which made him grin a little.

He watched the two adults shuffle in the kitchen, grabbing different things from cabinets and the refrigerator. He sighed, realizing that he couldn't finish the movie (because the credits were already scrolling up). _Oh well,_ he shrugged at the thought and walked to his room. There wasn't really a lot to do in your teenage years. Sure, there were computer, video games, friends, and music, but after you did all of that the day before, there wasn't anything left to do.

_Cloud probably studies and read his whole day away._ Jeez, didn't that kid go to a movie or concert once in a while? Cloud had probably nothing to do either just like me. Zack sat on his bed, thinking about the blond some more. He could understand why that kid's mother had named _"Cloud"_. His eyes, they were just so blue like they sky. It was like he belonged to the sky, like he was a cloud. Heh, cloud, Cloud; he'd have to tease him about that tomorrow.

Zack sighed as he let himself fall on the bed, his hands supporting the back of his head for a pillow. His eyes closed. He really did want to have Cloud as a friend, but something pushed him to go more than that. He sighed. No, it was just a crush he was having. It would go away after a few weeks, they always did._ He's in denial anyway_, Zack told himself. The only way to have Cloud more than a friend would be to make Cloud accept himself. _Whoa, back up there_, he told himself, _you don't want to scare the kid away so just push that thought aside._ He sighed, knowing that the conscious in his head, (the conscious he didn't even know he had sometimes), was right.

His bedroom door opened and he jump up to where he was sitting. When he saw that it was just Rick, he relaxed a little. Tiffany would've probably dragged his butt out of his room, she was already mad at him.

"Hey, food's ready if you're hungry."

Zack nodded. "O…okay," he said.

Rick studied Zack before shaking his head. "Okay, what's his name?"

Zack's attention rose up to Rick more. His head wasn't thinking like it was before. "What, what do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Just by the way your face is, there's a cute boy, I can tell." He walked over to Zack's bed and sat down beside him. "Okay, so tell me what he's like. Is he someone you go to school with or was he just some random dude you saw on the street? It had to be just today that you saw him because you've been fine through the weekend.

"I already told you what he's like. Short, fragile, blond spiky hair, blue eyes…."

"You mean Cloud?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, him," he said. "It's just…I don't know. I think it's just a crush and it'll be all over in the next two weeks. That's how it always is."

Rick patted Zack's back, nodding. "Yeah, I understand how you feel. I haven't told Tiffany this, but you know how on Thursday you guys wanted me to go to rent a movie? Well, there was this really cute guy there and we started talking. It turned out he had a kid that's about your age and well, that was it."

Zack raised an eyebrow. "You didn't ask him what his name was or if he was even gay?"

He shook his head. "Do you think I should have?" Zack nodded and Rick sighed. "It's been bugging me to go back there and ask him what his name was, like that will ever help though. He probably doesn't even rent movies that often and that's probably the first and last time I'll see him."

Zack shook his head. "I doubt it. It's a pretty small town. The worst that could happen is if he's not from here or he moved away. And like you said, you don't even know if he's gay or not."

Rick's eyes widened and he smiled. "Wow Zack, I never took you as the one to give advice to adults or anybody, really."

The teen shrugged. "It's more important that you get a boyfriend, other than me getting one right now, I guess."

Rick just smiled more and hugged Zack.

* * *

Cloud fell asleep on his book. His arms were folded on above his head, holding the pages down. His father Steve came in and shook his head at the sight. What were the chances of him waking Cloud up to have him in a more comfortable position or leaving him there with a back ache in the morning? _I could just tell him to miss for the day, but he'd probably go either way._ If he woke his son up now to go to his bed, he probably wouldn't be able to get back to sleep and he'd end up just reading the entire night until it was actually time for him to get up. But he didn't want the poor boy to have a back ache in the morning either.

He walked over to Cloud, who resembled so much of his mother, and pulled the book from Cloud. He folded the top left corner and set it down on Cloud's desk. Steve tapped gently on Cloud's shoulder. "Hey, Cloud, let's get you in bed okay?"

Cloud rose up slowly, looking around his room lazily and his eyes got caught on the book he was reading. He shook his head and put it down again. "I have to read one more chapter before…"

Steve shook his head. "You can finish reading in the morning, Cloud. C'mon, I don't want you having back problems when you get my age."

_What are you talking about, _Cloud thought sleepily. _You're not even close to forty-five yet._

But he stood up and walked over to his bed, his dad pulling the comforter down. Cloud felt himself bump his shin on the side of the bed and winced in pain. Yeah, there was going to be a bruise there in the morning. He didn't care right now though. All that mattered was getting in bed and sleeping. He felt himself being covered up once his head hit the pillow.

Steve smiled to himself as he watched Cloud sleep. He didn't know if Cloud knew, but he always snuck into his room while he was asleep. Something every parent that loved their child enough did. Maybe it was the resemblance of his mother, or the way he acted like her. He didn't know, but it made him miss the woman deeply.

He gently brushed strands of hair out of Cloud's face before turning to leave.

* * *

No, I did not forget about this or any of my other stories so stop thinking that. Also...if you see anything that should be fixed, tell me. Leave reviews.  
This will be updated, eventually.

Tiffany, Steve, and Rick are Original Characters created by me. Maybe this is too hard to figure out but, Cloud's voice is done by Steve Burton. Zack's voice is done by Rick Gomez. That's how I gave those two their names. And Tiffany, well, that was just random.


	3. Chapter 3 UPDATED!

**Chapter Three**

Tuesday's were always tiring. Cloud didn't know why, but they just were. He always forgot about the happiness inside him, not that he didn't have much happiness in him to start with. So when he started concentrating on the combination on his lock, he didn't hear Tifa and Aerith come up behind him. And since Tifa was more aggressive, she jumped on him.

"What happened yesterday? You never told us," Tifa said as Aerith struggled to pull the girl off of him.

Cloud turned around, making Tifa pull away from him. "What do you mean what happened?"

Tifa started to say something but Aerith stopped her. "What she means, Cloud, is that you didn't mention why you had to see the principal yesterday."

"Oh," he said.

Tifa looked like she wanted to punch him. This was normal for Cloud on Tuesday's, or any other day really. At least once a week, Tifa acted like she wanted to punch him. She either ended up doing so, leaving a mark somewhere, (usually on his arm, chest, or stomach), or she wanted to. Whenever she really wanted to, Aerith was always there. To Cloud, Aerith was his savior from getting punched (when she was around, that is).

"What does that mean? You could've told us at lunch yesterday, you could have called!"

Cloud shook his head. "Yeah, I _could_ have."

Tifa's anger rose. Aerith reacted by grabbing her arm. "Tifa, you don't have to punch Cloud because of this. I'm pretty sure he has a good reason. He probably just-"

"She wanted me to tutor someone."

Tifa and Aerith looked at him but Cloud just turned around and started focusing on the combination again. Tifa came up beside him, leaning against another locker and crossing her arms.

"Who is it?"

He shook his head. "You don't know him."

Tifa rolled her eyes. "Well, we know that you're tutoring a guy. So…is he single?" _Whoa, talk about serious bipolar_.

Cloud sighed. "You still wouldn't know him even if I told you."

"Why is that?" Aerith asked.

As the lock came undone, Cloud wondered if he should tell them about Zack. The moment they heard he was a juvenile Aerith would probably worry and Tifa would hunt the poor guy down and threaten him. The way Cloud saw it, Tifa should have been in that class rather than Zack.

Before Cloud could reply, he heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned, seeing Zack with a few guys. Quickly he turned his attention back to his locker.

"Cloud, what's wrong?" he heard Aerith say.

He shook his head, letting his bag fall from his shoulder and hanging it on the hook. He started opening it, and then something happened. Something happened that would change everything.

"Yo, Cloud!"

His voice, Zack's voice, calling out to him in the middle of the hallway, attracting attention, changed everything.

He swore he could feel Tifa and Aerith's eyes on him. And as far as he was concerned, he was the only student in the school with the name Cloud. He was pretty sure that Aerith and Tifa knew that too. He turned around to look at Zack only to find out that Zack wasn't with his friends, he was standing right in front of him.

"Hey, Spike, how ya doing?"

Cloud shrugged. "Okay, Tuesday's are bad for me."

"Yeah," Zack said, stretching out the word, "but you'll be smiling pretty soon." Cloud swore his breathing stopped. "I promise today will be better than yesterday, I won't fall asleep on you."

Cloud blushed. Aerith and Tifa stared wide-eyed and Cloud. He knew what they were thinking. _Dirty minds_, Cloud thought. Zack chuckled.

"That didn't come out right. I meant while we study together," Cloud put a hand over his face, hiding the blush. Zack bit his lip. "I mean, I, you know what, I'm just going to shut up."

Tifa spoke up then. "Is he tutoring you?"

Zack nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I take it that you're Tifa and Aerith. Cloud told me about you guys."

Tifa eyed Cloud thickly. "So you mention us to him but you don't mention him to us?"

Cloud sighed. "You never asked until now."

Aerith rolled her eyes. "Would you two just let it go?"

Tifa groaned. Zack watched the two girls fight about Cloud. The sight was so amusing it made him smile _that_ intense smile. Cloud saw, and felt, the smile flowing towards him and it felt like it was crawling into his skin. He dropped his hand from his face and looked at Zack. Zack walked over to Cloud and put an arm around his shoulder, leaning in close to the blonde's ear.

"It looks like you got your hands full, Cloudy."

Cloud winced, looking down at the floor. Zack chuckled. The argument was over between the girls and Cloud was pretty sure he knew who had won: Aerith. He looked up at them, finding out that he was right. Aerith just shook her head at Tifa and turned her attention to Zack. She smiled at him, holding out her hand.

"It's nice to see Cloud with someone else rather than us," she said as Zack took her hand. "He needs a good friend that isn't a girl."

Cloud looked away from Aerith and Zack smiled. His arm was still around Cloud. "Don't worry, beautiful, I'll take good care of him."

Aerith blushed and so did Cloud. "I'm Aerith, by the way." She let go of his hand, looking at Cloud. "Cloud's probably already told you that though."

Zack pulled Cloud closer. "Yeah, he's told me about you. I'm Zack." Zack looked at Cloud with a cheshire cat grin and then back at Aerith. "He probably hasn't told you what class I'm in, has he?"

Cloud's head shot up, making his neck crack a little. He winced at the sudden pain, but Aerith and Tifa didn't notice. He watched their faces to catch the way they reacted.

Tifa looked at Zack, crossing her arms over her big chest. "No, he hasn't. I know you can't be in his class _or _my class." Damn it, she was upset again.

"That leaves only one left," Aerith said in confusion.

Zack nodded. "Yeah," he said as the five-minute-bell rang. "Well, see ya in a few, Spike." Zack removed his arm and started walking to the juvenile hallway. Aerith stared with wide eyes, her mouth agape a little. Tifa's expression was the same, just a little more curled. Cloud swore he could feel his skin burning from the fiery rage she was sending him with her eyes.

"He's a delinquent?" Tifa asked.

Cloud looked back at Zack then at them and nodded. He looked up into Aerith's eyes, knowing what she was going to ask him. "He's not bad though. The worst he can do is annoy me to death but…"

"Cloud if he lays one hand on you I will kill him." _Whoa, major bipolar_. Cloud shook his head at this.

"Tifa, I'm pretty sure Zack's a nice boy. Is that right, Cloud?" Cloud nodded. "See, so we have nothing to worry about."

"Yes we do, there's a reason he's in that class," Tifa argued.

Cloud shook his head. "Yeah, I'll admit that the principal told me that he's swung a few punches but he's not violent. And even if he does punch me, I doubt it's going to be anything compared to how you punch me, Tifa."

Tifa narrowed her eyes at Cloud. "Fine, I believe you. But if he hurts you in any way-"

"He's not going to hurt me."

"We believe you, Cloud. Is that right, Tifa?" Aerith asked.

Tifa shrugged. "Yeah, sure, whatever you say."

The two girls turned to go to their classes and Cloud grabbed his stuff before heading down to Zack's class. He stopped at the room, standing in the doorway. Zack noticed him and waved, motioning for him to come in. Cloud was a bit uncomfortable with this but he did so, walking over to where Zack was sitting, doing his best to avoid everyone that looked at him weirdly. His legs started to shake and his palms started to sweat. His heart was beating fast and he could feel his blood pumping through his veins. He started to wonder if these kind of kids could sense someone being apprehensive.

Zack wrapped an arm around him just like he had earlier and pulled him close. There were a few girls around him, the type that would get the stereotype _goth _because of the way they dressed or wore their hair. The thought of girls surrounding Zack amused Cloud but at the same time, though, he felt a little jealous. _Jealous over what, though?_ He tried to think of a good reason of why he would be jealous over these girls but could not find one. Yeah, he had no reason to be jealous. Zack was gay, they weren't together, but these girls were pretty, especially for them being _goths_). Maybe it was just Cloud but he didn't know that much _about_ goth people. He knew that they looked scary, and some were even ugly. But these girls were beautiful, in a way. And all that hocus pocus stuff was just an act or went along with the stereotype, for some at least.

"Cloud, I'd like for you to meet a few of my friends. That beautiful angel over there is Paine. Watch out, she might eat you," Zack warned with a laugh.

"Bite me," Paine said with a serious face.

Zack grinned. "This delicate flower is Quistis," Zack said, putting his other hand on a blond girl's back. She looked mean, but maybe she was just mature. _A mature student in a juvenile class?_ Cloud didn't understand that. "And this little ball of joy is Yuffie."

"Hello," the girl replied. Cloud realized that her voice was rather chirpy.

"Yeah, you have to watch out for her too," he said, removing his hand from Quistis's back, "she is like the energizer bunny, I swear!"

Cloud smiled. "Yeah, I can tell."

"Ah, there's that smile!" Zack wrapped both arms around Cloud and hugged him. "Anyway, I'd feel like a jerk if I didn't introduce you to some of my friends. So let's get this thing over with. Yo, Christy, I'm going now!"

Christy, the teacher, shooed Zack away by waving her hand at him. Zack smiled and headed for the door, stretching as he got into the hallway. Cloud eyed him carefully, remembering what Tifa said. Then again, Tifa was just a worried friend and wanted an excuse to beat someone to the ground.

"C'mon Cloud, let's get going?"

Cloud sighed, shaking his head and walking to the same room from yesterday. "If you keep talking like that, people are going to think you're a hillbilly."

Zack grinned. "And what if I am?"

Cloud shook his head. "No reason, it just doesn't suit you is all."

Zack shrugged. "Yeah, maybe… So, anyway, I have a few questions about Tifa?"

They entered the room and Zack rearranged the desks again, going into the corner of the room and grabbing a few textbooks. Cloud took the same seat as he did yesterday and watched as Zack came back, dropping the books on the hollow wood.

"What kind of questions?"

Zack sat down, raising his arms and interlacing his fingers behind his head. "Is she abusive to you or is that just the way she is?"

Cloud shrugged. "She's always been aggressive, even when we were kids she'd use me as a punching bag. Dad didn't like me coming home with bruises so Tifa had to stop. I guess she either forgot or doesn't care anymore now that we're older. That or she knows that there's no way my dad's going to find out unless I take my shirt off so she punches me where it would usually be hidden by clothes."

"Does it hurt?" Zack asked, his voice sounding concerned.

He shook his head, taking a moment to let Zack's concerned voice sink into his head. "No, not really; I've gotten worst beatings from Seifer before, but she gives me small bruises."

Zack grunted. Cloud thought that it didn't suit him. Was he grunting about Seifer or Tifa, though? "Sounds like she should be in my class… Anyway, let's get this thing going." Cloud nodded as Zack gave him a copy of a history book. "Hey, Cloud, does Tifa hate me?"

"Why do you ask?" Cloud asked, opening the book.

"She acted like she didn't like it when she and Aerith found out what class I'm in."

Cloud could swear he saw that puppy face creeping onto Zack's face. Quickly he shook his head and answered him. The thought of Zack's puppy face made his chest hurt and his lips quiver. "No, Aerith's surprised but she doesn't care that much. Tifa thinks that you're going to hurt me, but I think she's worrying too much." _Or wants a good reason to beat someone down_, Cloud thought but he wasn't about to say that to Zack.

Zack chuckled. "You might as well just say that those two girls are your mom."

Cloud smiled. "Aerith yes, Tifa no," he replied.

Zack was right when he said that he wouldn't fall asleep. He did daze off a few times and he even started to use his book as a pillow but remembered instantly what he told Cloud. By the time lunch started, Zack was fully awake. Cloud started to gather his stuff but Zack grabbed his arm.

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet, Spike. I still get to ask three questions."

Cloud sighed, stopping what he was doing. "Okay, I'm listening."

"Since I know that you are gay, but in denial, have you ever went on a date with someone?"

He shook his head. "No, not once in my life unless you can count Aerith and Tifa but they weren't _dates_. They were just a hanging-out-with-friends type of thing."

Zack frowned in frustration. "Okay, this is more of a suggestion but how about you sit with me during lunch today?"

Cloud sighed. "You know that counts as a question, right?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, I had one planted into my mind but I can't remember it now. So, answer the question, yes or no."

Cloud shrugged. "I guess, but…I usually use this hour to study for anything that I've missed."

The taller teen rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Boy, Spike, you need to get out and live a little. Anyway, forget studying and going to your class at the end of the day." Cloud's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. He started to say something before Zack put a finger up to his lips. "I'll come over and help you if I have to."

Cloud shook his head. "No, it's okay. I don't really… I just… I'll walk home with you after school." _Ah, that sounded corny. _Zack didn't notice though.

Zack thanked whatever god there was as the bell rang for lunch. Footsteps could be heard pounding onto the floor from another hallway and Cloud rolled his eyes. He never understood why students at his school, especially the freshmen and sophomores, ran to the lunch room like a pack of hungry wolves.

"You'd think that they're scared they're not going to get to eat lunch," he said.

Zack smiled, standing up. "Yeah…well, c'mon, Spike, let's go get something before the mini's beat us to it." He wrapped his arm around the blonde's shoulder as they walked out of the room and towards the cafeteria. "So, what do you like?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. I've never really had school lunch that often. I remember I did freshmen year but that's about it. I don't even think I have any money to get anything, Zack." Cloud patted his front pockets, shaking his head.

"That's okay, Cloud. I'll get you something."

"Zack, you don't have to-"

"I _want_ to, Cloud. Just tell me to get something and I will, okay?" he asked.

Cloud nodded as they walked into the cafeteria and went to go stand in line. He knew that Aerith didn't have the same lunch hour as he did, which was why he never really bothered to eat lunch. Tifa used her lunch hour to go off with her friends or use the gym for her volleyball practises. So Cloud always said what was the point in eating lunch if you didn't have anyone to eat it with? But now, now he had Zack. _Maybe that didn't come out right…_ He had Zack, _as a friend_, to sit with at lunch…_as friends_.

Two girls walked up to where they were standing and waved at Zack. Zack smiled and waved back at them, his arm _still _around Cloud. The first girl was short with chin-length black hair while the other was taller with longer black hair pulled back into several braids tied together. Cloud couldn't help but notice that her chest was big just like Tifa's. She looked another _goth, _and just like the others, she was pretty in some kind of way. Wait, hadn't he seen the short one in Zack's class?

"Hey Zack, who is this, your new boyfriend?" the shorter one asked. Her answer was a pinch in the ribs by the other girl. "Ouch, what was that for?"

"For being rude to Zack," she simply replied.

Zack chuckled in amusement. "No, he's not my boyfriend, he's my tutor."

"Hm, I sense that there's more than just tutoring between you two," the taller one said.

Zack shrugged. "Yeah, he's my new friend. I saved his butt yesterday from Seifer."

"Wait, saved his butt meaning from having it kicked or butt-raped?"

"Yuffie," Zack and the other girl said at the same time. Cloud looked down and blushed. He didn't know why he was blushing though.

"The first one," Zack quickly said. "Anyway…Cloud this is Yuffie and her older sister Lulu. Lulu, Yuffie…this is Cloud."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes. "I seen him this morning Zack." She looked at Cloud, noticed that his cheeks were red, and back at Zack, who still had his arm wrapped around the blonde. "Are you sure he's not your boyfriend, Zack?"

Zack nodded. "Yeah, the last time I checked he wasn't."

The way Zack said _the last time I checked _made Cloud shiver.

Cloud saw him grab a lunch tray and noticed that they were next in line; Zack started picking out random food items. Zack then looked at him with wide eyes, telling him that he needed to tell him what he wanted. Obviously, Cloud didn't care what Zack got, he'd just share with whatever he got. But just to make the other happy, Cloud picked up a small bag of chips. After Zack paid the lunch lady the money for the food, Zack walked Cloud over to his table. They sat down next to each other at the round table after Cloud noticed that he was sitting with other juveniles.

"Hey everybody, this is Cloud. Cloud, meet everybody." Zack smiled at the blond.

"Nice to meet you Cloud, I'm Yuna." Cloud looked at a girl with short brown hair. Okay, so maybe the whole table wasn't full of juveniles because he was sure he'd seen her in a few of Tifa's classes before. Cloud responded to the girl by nodding his head. He didn't know what to say. What _was_ he supposed to say?

"And you just met Lulu and Yuffie," Zack said as the two girls joined the table. "The freaky one with a big scar on his face is Squall and that wild blond one sitting next to him is Zell."

Cloud noticed that the whole table was just about full of girls, mainly because two more girls had just joined the table. One of these girls was Paine, the other was a bouncy blond and they both sat by Yuna, putting the poor girl in the middle. He recognized the other girl as one of Tifa's friends. He couldn't remember her name though, because he didn't pay attention to all of Tifa's friends.

"Cloud this is Rikku and you already know Paine," Zack said as Rikku joined the party. "Rikku, this is…"

"I know who Cloud is, Zack. He's friends with my best friend Tifa."

"You only know Cloud by what Tifa says about him," Yuna said.

"Tifa talks about me?"

"Yeah, almost everyday she tells us something about you. She didn't even bother to say that you were cute, though," Rikku replied.

Cloud looked down, feeling his face turn to crimson. He didn't want to look up and have every pair of eyes on him.

"He's not single, Rikku." Cloud looked up to see that it was Zack that had just spoken. Rikku's face fell as confusion went over Cloud's face. He wasn't, since when? He was pretty sure that he wasn't dating anyone. Unless Zack decided that _they _were dating, then...

"Oh well, give me a call when your relationship doesn't work."

"Wait, isn't Cloud-" Yuffie started.

"Shut up, Yuffie," Lulu snapped.

"But isn't he…"

"Shut up," the older girl scolded.

"I was just going to say-"

"Yuffie shut the fuck up already. Gah, you're more annoying than Selphie."

Yuffie narrowed her eyes at Zell. "At least I'm not a cowboy lover," she said.

Zell just smiled. "Touché," he said. _I guess he took that as a compliment._

Cloud looked at the teen named Squall. He had barely moved since the whole thing started. He was rather mysterious, too. His eyes were cold, and that scar added something to his appearance that made Cloud get goose bumps. Squall's whole appearance just about gave him goose bumps though. He started to wonder if Squall was gay too but his thoughts and wonders were soon interrupted by Zack, though.

"Hey, Spike, eat your chips and…hey, don't give me that look. If you're going to be around me and be my friend, you're going to have to eat lunch."

"Yeah, he won't let you go until you do," Zell said.

"How do _you _know, Zell?" Yuffie asked.

Zell shrugged. "He's done it to all the others. Why should Cloud be any different?"

Rikku's mouth opened and Yuffie rolled her eyes. Cloud was blushing; even though he had no idea what was going through everyone's mind, he had a good estimation of what it was. _Estimation, _he asked himself. Lulu was shaking her head as Squall just stared at Zack and Cloud. Paine gave Zell a look and Yuna lipped _'Sorry' _to Cloud. Zell was looking at everyone with a dumbstruck face as Zack closed his eyes stuck his forefinger and thumb in the corners of his eyes.

"Zell, it's not that way. Those two are not together," Lulu said.

"Well they might as well be. Just look at them, they- Ouch, what was that for, Squall?"

Cloud hadn't even see Squall move but Zell was rubbing the back of his head where the cold teen had obviously smacked him. He didn't even think that he heard the smack. Cloud's mind started to wander about the brown-haired teen again.

"Shut up," Squall murmured.

Zack grinned, uncovering his face and eyes, and handed the small bag of chips to Cloud. "Just because Zell got smacked in the head, doesn't mean he wasn't right about the first part: I won't let you go until you eat."

Cloud responded by taking the bag slowly from Zack. Why was it that he wanted to throw up? He shook the thought off, knowing that he'd still have to eat…eventually. Cloud continued to look at the dark-haired teen as he slowly opened the bag and ate the chips.

"You know that you still have on more question to ask," Cloud said, trying to distract himself from Squall in case the cold teen noticed him staring.

"I do?" Zack asked. Cloud nodded, hoping the others wouldn't ask anything about it. But he noticed that they were too interested in other things. Paine was arguing with Rikku and Yuna was trying to stop them. _Poor girl, she reminds me of Aerith so much. _Yuffie and Zell were having a staring contest as Squall and Lulu watched and mouthed things with their lips to each other. "Okay, well, what's your…uh, oh, are you, uh…never mind."

Cloud just sighed. He shook his head while Zack was thinking and eating at the same time. _I hope he doesn't hurt himself._ Cloud smiled at the thought. That was a bad idea though.

"What's so funny?" Zack asked, but Cloud shook his head. "No, it's something. Now, c'mon, tell me. Do I have to say please?"

Cloud shook his head. "Really, it was nothing. I was just thinking about an old memory."

Lulu smiled a little. Cloud noticed that they had now gotten everyone's attention. "That's not what I'm getting from you."

Zack's eyes lit up towards Lulu. "I forgot you could do that. Okay, what was he thinking about that was so funny?"

"It was something about you thinking and not hurting yourself in the process."

Everyone, even Squall, smiled. Zack looked over at Cloud, putting his lip out and widening his eyes. "You'd think that about me? Aw, c'mon, that doesn't affect you? Sad puppy's face…" Zack looked down, making his face seem even more hurt.

Cloud smiled and looked at Lulu. "How did you know what I was thinking?"

"She's a witch, I swear she is," Zell said.

Lulu rolled her eyes. "It's called Wicca and no I am not. It's all over his face, if you can't tell."

"Well, none of us are trying to be mind readers like you, Miss Mage," Yuffie said.

"Watch it, ninja-girl."

"Ooh, what's my nickname?" Rikku asked.

"Bubbles," Paine replied and Yuna giggled.

"Why is it bubbles?" Rikku asked.

"You're bubbly, Rikku. What other reason is there for you to be nicknamed Bubbles?" Zell said.

Rikku shrugged. "Okay, then what's Cloud's nickname?"

Everyone looked over at the petite blond. Cloud blushed, looking over at Zack. The others did the same thing and Zack looked back at everyone else. His mouth was full of food when he went to say _'What'_ so it came out like _'Mutt'._

"What is Cloud's nickname?" Yuffie asked.

Zack looked over at Cloud and grinned. "He has lots of nicknames from me," Zack replied, wrapping his arm around Cloud. Cloud reacted by lifting his shoulders to his cheekbones and tensing. "Isn't that right, Spike?"

Cloud muttered, "Yeah." Zack's arm on him made Cloud's skin tingle.

"Hey Cloud," Paine said, "did you know that Zack's nickname is _Puppy_?"

Zack let go of Cloud and stared at Paine. "I am not a damn dog," he said.

Cloud smiled. "No, but I know why you're called a puppy," Cloud said.

"Aw, Cloudy, you're mean." By the way Zack's eyes widened and put a hand over his chest, someone would would really think that they had just hurt his feelings if they didn't know him well. Cloud just shrugged though and tried to hold back a smile. He ignored the nickname Zack gave him as Rikku, Yuffie, and Zell laughed. Yuna and Lulu smiled while Squall shook his head.

* * *

That's the third chapter. *Stretch* I'm so tired. I went over it and tried to fix any errors but let me know if you see any more. =)  
**I really want to talk about this and that is why this is in bold. I think I confused everyone when I mentioned Cloud's dad Steve and _Rick_. Steve and Rick ARE NOT Steve Burton and Rick Gomez. Steve and Rick are just their names. Cloud is voiced by Steve Burton so I decided to name his dad Steve. Zack is voiced by Rick Gomez so I named that one guy Rick. That is all. And I already started to pick out some people that should play these characters if they were in a movie. I am having trouble with some so if you can think of anybody that would be good playing a role for one of these characters, please tell me in a review.**  
Anyway, chapter four will be up whenever so mark THAT on your calendar.  
Thanks for reading and please press the **Review this Chapter** button. I want to know what you think of this so far.  
_Sincerely, Z-L-P._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

As the two started walking back to the classroom, another question hit Zack in the face. He looked over at Cloud and grinned. Cloud saw the grin and stopped walking. Zack stopped as well and turned back to look at the blonde.

"What is it?" Cloud asked with an unsure look upon his face.

Zack grinned even more. "I just thought of a great question to ask you. Okay, are you still a virgin?"

Cloud's mouth opened, dropping to the floor. His eyes widened, hitting the over the roof. "Where the hell did that come from?"

"Hey, I can ask you any kind of question I want. And I want to know: are you a virgin?"

In Cloud's mind, he slapped Zack across the face and continued walking. In reality, he sighed and shook his head. "I'll only tell you if you tell me the same answer to that question. Are you a virgin, Zackary Fair?" _Shit, I just said his full name to his face._

Zack shook his head, ignoring Cloud saying his full name. "No, Spike, I am not a virgin. And before you can ask yourself, I have only had sex a few times with three people. Now what about you?" he asked.

Cloud blushed, looking down. "I haven't had sex with anyone so yes, I am still a virgin." He felt like an idiot, telling Zack that he'd never had sex with anyone and here Zack had had sex with three people.

There was that stupid grin on his face. If Cloud had enough aggressiveness in him he would have punched that grin off of Zack's face. "Well, you know how everyone's always telling you and trying to fill your head about saving sex for marriage or whatever? Yeah, that's not really true. The same thing goes about saving sex until you think you're going to stay with that person for the rest of your life or if you really think that you love that person." Zack just shook his head and continued to walk back to the classroom.

They continued walking until they reached the classroom. Zack pursed his lips and looked over at Cloud, grinning. Cloud eyed him, wondering why the other kept looking at him every two minutes.

"What?" Cloud asked.

Zack shrugged and held out his right hand and gestured to the door. "After you, Spike," Zack said.

Cloud sighed and walked into the room. As he sat down, his stomach started to make more knots. He watched Zack sit across from him, more knots. Why did that last question bother him so much? Was he scared that Zack would go off and tell the whole school that he was still a virgin? Yeah right, as if he would bother going around telling everybody that. He wouldn't do it anyway, Zack wasn't like that. _It's not because Zack has already had sex either, _he scolded himself. And then there was that little voice in his head, _or is it?_

_No, it has nothing to do with Zack being with someone else. I don't feel that way for him. I'm not…_

He's gay, you're in denial, he's hot, you're helping him mentally, and he can help you physically.

Cloud shook his head, telling the voice to go away. He pushed a finger on his forehead, trying to make the stupid voice go away so that he wouldn't have a ridiculous migraine.

"Cloud, you okay?" a voice asked. He looked up to see Zack watching him. Concern was written all over his face. "You were spacing out for quite a while and then you just snapped and started shaking. Are you okay?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I just don't feel too well."

Zack tightened his lips together. "Maybe you should go to the nurse and rest for a while."

Cloud shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine. I mean, it's not that serious." When Zack didn't reply, he continued. "Really, I'll be okay for now."

Zack shrugged. "If you say so, but loosen up a little. You're too tense."

The next thing Cloud knew, Zack was behind him and pushing lightly on his shoulders to relax. Zack paused in his actions as his hand ran over a bump. He shook his head and started rubbing his hands in circles over the bump. The feeling shocked Cloud that he sighed.

_I didn't know Zack was good with his hands like this. Oh no, that sounded perverted. Wait, don't think just…do, no, just relax._

Cloud closed his eyes. His mind stopped thinking for once in his life and he relaxed against Zack's touch. Every thought he had, everything that had ever occurred in his life became silence to his mind. He didn't have to worry about the next assignment or big test. There was no worrying about getting everything done and turned in on time. The light pressure on his shoulders made his head fall forward a bit. Little stars danced in his head, and when the feeling had finally stopped, his head rolled back and gently hit someone's stomach-Zack's _(muscular)_ stomach.

Zack pulled away and kneeled down beside Cloud. His arms were folded onto the table and his legs were bent to keep his balance. His eyes met Cloud's almost instantly and Cloud bit the insides of his cheeks to keep from blushing.

"You must put yourself under a lot of stress to have knots like that in your back."

Cloud shook his head. "No, I just study, read, and do homework."

Zack rolled his eyes. "That's very stressful, Cloud. Hey, I know you're supposed to be helping me get my grades up but maybe I can help you by keeping your grades the same."

"I guess, but wouldn't I…"

Zack shook his head. It was like he knew what Cloud was thinking. "No, you wouldn't be wasting my time. Seriously Cloud, I don't mind. You know, as long as you continue to help me." Zack smiled, causing Cloud's stomach to turn.

Cloud started to smile but shook his head. "Yeah, that makes sense but-"

"I'll still do it even when school's out. C'mon Cloud, it's only October and we're friends, right?" Cloud nodded and Zack smiled the same smile that made Cloud's stomach turn. "That's good, because I think it would hurt my feelings if you said no."

* * *

And since it _was_ October, that meant Halloween was making its way around the corner. Cloud could care less as he wasn't really looking forward to it but when was the last time he was counting down the days to go trick-or-treating. He knew what he'd do, so there was no point in going at all. And since Cloud had agreed earlier to help Zack over at his house, he was stuck following the teen like a lost puppy.

Zack had started talking to Cloud on their walk but Cloud wasn't listening. His mind was on something else. He couldn't really describe what but it didn't have to do with what Zack was saying. Yet strangely it had something to do with Zack. Why did all his thoughts end up being about Zack lately? _It's because I'm tutoring him and he's my new "friend"._

No, it's because you are in denial and won't admit that you're in love with him. So damn it, admit it already!

Cloud shook his head. Someone was saying his name and he looked up to see Zack looking at him with the same concerned look just moments ago.

"You were doing it again, Cloud. I bet you weren't even listening to a thing I said, did you?" Cloud shook his head and blushed, mumbling a sorry and looking down at his feet. Zack sighed. "It's okay, it wasn't really that important anyway. I was just saying how Lulu, Yuna, Squall, Zell, Rikku, and I are going to hang out this weekend and I wanted to know if you wanted to come to. You know, since you're my new buddy," Zack said, wrapping an arm around Cloud's shoulder. "And I'd feel like a bastard if I didn't ask you if you wanted to come, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, I know you like to study and everything, but I want to pull that away from you for a day or two. Is that okay with you?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, it's okay. You're probably right anyway, I do need a break. I'll have to ask my dad first, though."

"Why, is it that he's a dick and doesn't want you to have a life? Is that why you're in the smart people's class?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, he just…worries about me. I don't know why but he just does."

Zack looked away. "It sounds…heartwarming," he said, shaking his head.

Cloud looked at Zack. There was no smile on his face like there always was. There was something else, something that looked like rage. Maybe it wasn't exactly rage but Zack didn't look happy. Cloud didn't like it, it didn't suit Zack.

"Zack…"

Zack's head snapped up to Cloud. "What's wrong, Cloud?" Cloud shook his head. "Hey, don't try that game with me. I'll just go get Lulu and have her use the psychic powers she _thinks_ she has," Zack said with a grin.

Cloud looked at Zack curiously. "Can she really read minds?"

Zack shook his head. "No, just people, she just acts like she can read minds to scare people like you senseless. Now tell me what you were thinking," he said.

Cloud shrugged. He might as well tell him. What was the worst thing Zack could do? "Your mood…it just changed all of a sudden. I've never seen that kind of look on your face."

"Oh that, well...it was nothing important. Okay?"

Cloud shook his head, looking up at Zack. "No, it was something. We started talking about my dad and you just got that weird expression on your face."

Zack stopped walking, making Cloud stop (due to the fact that Zack's arm was still around his shoulders). Cloud looked at him, waiting for an answer. "I'd rather not talk about it but let's just say that I'm not close with my dad."

As they continued walking, it hit Cloud. Zack's dad must've done something to hurt Zack badly, to scar him for life. Was that why Zack was in the juvenile class? Was that how the scar on his left cheek was formed? Did his dad do that to him? Wait, he didn't-Cloud shook his head. There were too many questions and he knew that Zack wouldn't answer them all at once. But Zack noticed Cloud shaking his head.

_That has to be the third time he's done that today,_ Zack thought. "You just did it again, Cloud. Are you trying to ask yourself questions about my relationship with my dad?" Cloud looked down, blushing. "It's okay; everyone wants to know when I tell them I'm not close with my dad. I'll tell you one day, I promise, just not today or tomorrow. Maybe someday when there actually is time to talk about it, we will."

Cloud nodded. "Okay," he said. "Hey Zack," Zack's attention was full alert on Cloud as he leant close to hear what Cloud wanted to say. "Can I ask you a question?" Zack nodded, smiling at him. (It was that smile!) "This has kind of been bugging me ever since you asked if I was a virgin but who did you have sex with."

Zack chuckled a little, pulling Cloud closer to him. "Okay I get it; you don't have to be all shy about it, Spike. The first time I ever had sex was when I was fourteen. Yeah, don't even ask why but it was with Yuna. We only had sex once though before she told me something was wrong. A year later I figured out that I was gay. You don't know the other two guys; they moved away and were in my class. They've both graduated by now though, so I don't really get involved with them. And that's why I mentioned to you that it doesn't matter what people say to you about saving sex for that special someone. I thought they were both special but I ended up getting dumped like trash."

"Oh," was all Cloud could say. He blushed, knowing that Zack would probably go into a big sex talk if it led that far.

"Yeah, I'm sticking with dating for now unless something hits me that they're _'the one'_. At least, that's what Tiffany calls it."

Cloud nodded and noticed Zack stopping. He looked at the taller teen before looking in front of him. They were at Zack's house. _Wow, that went fast._ To Cloud, it went fast; to Zack it took forever.

"Well c'mon Cloud; let's start a party in there." Zack let go of Cloud's shoulders and walked up to the front door before he turned slightly to Cloud. "Oh yeah, my aunt has a 'gay boyfriend' that's kind of an ass but he can be really helpful when he wants to be. I just thought I'd mention that to you, y'know."

"Yeah, because we're friends," Cloud said, mimicking what Zack always said.

Zack smiled (that smile) and took Cloud's hand as he opened the door, pulling Cloud into the house. Once they were in Zack let go of Cloud's hand and stretched. Cloud watched him, but his eyes started to scan the house. He imagined it different from this. He didn't think that there would be so many paintings on the walls or lovely furniture that looked like it cost a wallet full. Of course he knew that it would be nice, just not _this_ nice.

Zack noticed Cloud's stares and grinned. "Getting a good view, smarty boy?" he teased, chuckling.

Cloud looked at him and blushed. "Sorry, it's just not what I expected. I didn't think that there'd be paintings everywhere.

Zack rolled his eyes and started to make his way to the kitchen, beckoning for Cloud to follow. "It's Rick's idea of _humanity_ or whatever he calls it. Anyway, you want something to drink?"

Cloud shrugged. "Do you have a bottle of water?"

Zack grinned and nodded. "Yeah, you really are a smarty-pants aren't you?"

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked as Zack opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.

"I don't know, you chose water, the healthiest drink that I know. I'm just teasing you Cloud. That's something you're going to have to learn about me." Cloud smiled a little but he tried to hide it by covering his mouth with his hand, pretending to have an itch beneath his nose, as Zack handed him a plastic bottle. "Hey, I saw that smile. C'mon Cloud, smile, please?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked, his hand still covering his lips.

"You look normal when you smile. Y'know, not like a robot or someone that's trained to never smile at all."

"That's something you would never be able to do," Cloud said, uncovering his hand, smiling. He couldn't help himself but…

"I do not take that as an insult because it's true."

"What's true?" a new voice asked.

Cloud and Zack turned to see a guy, Rick (Cloud assumed) leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

"I wouldn't be able to go without smiling even if they trained me to," Zack answered.

Rick chuckled. "I agree with that. But Zack, you really should introduce your friend."

Zack waved punches at him, making Cloud smile. "Whatever, Rick this is my friend Cloud. He's the one that's tolerating with my ass to get my grades up."

"Oh," Rick said, smiling, "so _this_ is Cloud?"

Cloud was a bit confused. Did Zack talk about him? What if Zack had a crush on him? If Zack did talk about him, what did he say?

"Rick, I swear if you don't shut up-"

The front door opened, causing everyone to look as Tiffany entered. "Zack, are you and Rick going at it again? Oh, hello Cloud." Cloud nodded, giving a small wave. "It's nice to see that Zack's actually brought you over. So are you two going to be working or just hanging out?"

"A little bit of both," Zack answered.

Tiffany made her way into the kitchen, eyeing Zack carefully before finally looking over at Cloud. "Good to see that Zack's taking care of you so far," she said.

"Hey," Zack whined, causing Cloud to smile, holding back a laugh.

Zack was pulled into a headlock by Rick. "Oh, we love you Zack and you know it. What would your life be like if we didn't pick on you?"

Zack struggled to get out of the headlock, no chance. Rick was holding him tight but not tight enough to choke him. His other hand was ruffling Zack's hair. The whole scene was making Cloud cough out a few laughs as Zack tried to break free.

"What would my life be like? Uh, let's see, it would be full of joy!"

"Nah that would only be if you found someone," Rick said, looking at Cloud and giving him a smirk.

Tiffany rolled her eyes at the two, looking over at Cloud. When she noticed that Cloud was doing the best to keep from smiling and laughing, she smiled too and shook her head. "It's nice to finally see you smile like that Cloud."

"What, where, Cloud's smiling? Aw, c'mon Rick, at least let me see Cloud's smile." Rick just shook his head and let go of Zack, causing the other to fall to the floor. Zack quickly looked up and saw Cloud's smile, smiling himself as he got up. "Cloud, I'm going to get you to smile more often. I don't care if I have to jump over a cliff to do it, I'm going to make you smile and laugh more."

Cloud shook his head. "Whatever you say, Zack," he said, smiling.

* * *

Cloud smiles a lot in this chapter...  
Anyway, reviews are nice so please hit that button and let me know if you see any mistakes and I will fix that.  
This chapter is dedicated to my dear friend who requested that I upload more chapters... I will get to that, eventually.  
Anyway, **HAPPY BIRTHDAY TerrenceG9!** =D


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

An hour passed before Cloud decided that it was time for him to leave. Tiffany tried to get him to stay for supper but Cloud said something about his dad probably already had something ready for him.

"Okay but you're going to have to introduce me to him and maybe the five of us could go out together.

"Cloud nodded. "I'll ask him."

Tiffany looked over at Zack, who was sitting back on the couch. "Zack, would you walk Cloud home for me?" Zack stood up with hesitation. "I just want to make sure he gets home safe okay."

Zack just rolled his eyes as he walked out of the house, Cloud following. He looked over at the blonde once they had walked far from the house. "She must really like you for wanting me to walk you home."

Cloud shrugged. "I don't really think so, but you may be right." Cloud remembered what had happened in the last hour. He hardly got to help Zack at all. He had spent his visit watching Zack get picked on, talking to Tiffany, and laughing. He didn't know if they were always like that or if they had just done that for today-for him. He had never laughed so much. He swore that he could feel the blood in his cheeks pounding. His cheeks hurt so much from smiling a lot. His sides were aching up and down like there was no tomorrow. It was like Zack had delivered a rainbow after a depressing rain. Zack said that he would get him to laugh and smile more. And Cloud had to admit that he did like smiling and laughing but it hurt afterwards. The pain was worth it though.

"You were doing it again, Cloud. What are you thinking about now?"

"I was just thinking that I hadn't laughed so much in a long time."

Zack grinned. "Well, get used to laughing a lot, especially when I'm around. Y'know, I bet some of your teachers would pay to see you laugh the way you did today."

Cloud shrugged. He didn't know what he was feeling when they came up to his house, but it felt strange. His stomach felt like it had just dropped two hundred feet, like he just gotten off of a roller coaster. His heart was pumping like he wanted to do something or for something to happen. Zack looked at Cloud, knowing that he was thinking again. He shook his head just as the blonde looked over at him.

"You need to stop thinking like that, Cloud. It bugs me."

Cloud looked down. _It can't bug you that bad, can it?_ "What if I tell you what I'm thinking?" There was no way he'd stop thinking. It was like looking at food, with an empty stomach, and trying to not get hungry.

"I guess that works."

* * *

Cloud had forgotten all about asking his dad about the invitation. He knew that the answer would probably be yes because that's just how his dad was. Cloud remembered the moment his head hit his pillow and he made a mental note to remind himself in the morning.

Wednesday's were always screwed up, but at least they weren't Tuesday's, which Cloud hated to the very end. Cloud woke up feeling fuzzy, hoping that the fuzziness would go away if he took a shower. He sighed at the thought and drug himself to the bathroom. He turned the knobs and lazily stripped. It took that amount of time for the water temperature to rise to a comfortable level.

He started to clear his head as he stepped into the steaming water, thinking of what was to be done. He cursed himself as he remembered that today he had a test. He hadn't studied yesterday because he was at Zack's house. _Everything should be okay_, he told himself. He had studied every night since the day it was assigned last week. That was _before_ Zack had even come into his life, _before _he even started tutoring.

Zack…

Why was Zack all Cloud could think about lately? He was different from anyone else that Cloud knew, that was why. At least, that's what he told himself. _Maybe there's more,_ a voice said. No, that was it, there was nothing more to him and Zack but the friendship that they had. The voice reacted by taunting Cloud's brain, processing into a migraine.

_It's hard to not fall into his eyes when he talks. The way his hair falls is just too hot to not look at. And don't you just love the way his muscles flex out of his shirt? And that's just the muscles that show, too. Imagine what they're like…_

No, stop, I don't think of Zack that way and I don't _want_ to think of Zack that way.

_Don't you just love his smile though? The way it turns your stomach and makes your heart beat fast. It's fantastic, is it not? Admit it, you have a crush on Zack._

Cloud closed his eyes. He'd only met the black-haired teen two days ago. Do crushes even happen that fast? Cloud didn't know, he never really had a crush on anyone. _I'll ask dad._ No, don't ask dad. Ask someone that isn't family, an adult, and most certainly not Zack.

Aerith…

He considered the thought and shrugged. _As long as Tifa's not around,_ he thought.

After turning the water off and stepping out of the shower, Cloud began to dry himself. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he left the bathroom and quickly walked to his room. He dropped the towel to the floor and started dressing. As he pulled his shirt over his head, he grabbed his comb and walked over to the small mirror (that was about the size of a computer screen). He ran the comb through his hair for a while until giving up and dropping the comb on his desk. Slipping his shoes on, he grabbed his bag and jacket, walking into the kitchen.

"Morning Cloud," his dad said as Cloud sat down at the table.

Cloud looked up at his dad. He was pouring himself a cup of coffee, Cloud's breakfast already set in front of him. "Morning," he muttered._ Tell him about the invite_, he thought, picking at his food.

Steve sat down at the corner on Cloud's right, coffee cup still in his hands. "Are you okay, Cloud?" Cloud nodded. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm just…never mind." _Tell him,_ the voice said again. Cloud sighed, causing his dad to look at him with concern. How was he supposed to say it? "I'm okay; it's just that yesterday my principal asked me if you'd be interested in going out. I don't mean like a date, I mean as a group of five."

"Five?" his dad asked, assuming he knew who the other two were.

"Yeah, it would be you, her, me, Zack, and her friend Rick."

His dad thought for a moment, considering the invitation. Cloud knew that he was doing this just so it didn't seem like he was overly excited, even if he was. He knew that if his dad had no control over himself, he would've screamed, or squealed, and clapped his hands while jumping up and down. Yes his dad was gay, but he wasn't the type of gay Hollywood always showed. His dad didn't always show how excited he was and would be silent for a moment like he was actually thinking it through, while in his mind the answer was already yes two seconds after Cloud asked the question.

"Sure, that sounds good. Did she say when?" Cloud shook his head. "Do you want me to call and ask or do you want to ask?"

Cloud looked away. "You can call her," he said. That meant that he didn't want to ask her.

Steve smiled. "Okay, I'll ask her today when you're in school."

* * *

Cloud walked over to where Aerith's locker was, relieved that Tifa wasn't there. He cleared his throat, making her look up as she was bent over looking for something. She smiled and stood up straight, forgetting about whatever it was that she was looking for.

"What were you trying to find?" Cloud asked.

She looked at the bottom of her locker and shrugged. "It's not really that important but I'm more concerned on why you're at my locker. You never come over unless it's to borrow something. Is there something that you want?"

Cloud shrugged. "I need to ask you something."

"Oh, so you want my advice? Okay, so continue, just spill it all out."

He sighed, ready to regret asking Aerith. "How does a crush start?" he asked, looking away as his face started to turn red.

Aerith smiled. "Aw, Cloud do you have a crush on someone?"

Cloud shook his head. Like he knew, that was the reason he asked her. "I don't even know how it's supposed to work," he said. It was excuse for answering her question and they both knew that. But Aerith just smiled and ignored it, like she always did.

"Oh, okay, well you basically know that you like someone when you look at them and they make you smile or make your stomach turn. Does that happen to you at all?"

Yes, of course it did, but he wasn't about to tell Aerith that. She would go on about it, the way a fan girl would carry on about her favorite character, and ask who it was. And if Tifa came over, he wouldn't be able to stop and tell her to not tell Tifa. So instead, he shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't really pay attention to how I felt or if I smiled."

"I wish you would smile a little more often. Anyway, if you think you do have a crush on someone, pay attention the next time you're around them."

Cloud already knew that there wouldn't be a next time to pay attention. He just shrugged and walked off to his locker, shaking his head as he reached for the lock. _"Damn it" was all he could think of._ It took him three times before he actually got the combo right and opened his locker, hanging his backpack in there. The next thing he thought, and his face turned deep red too, was _I have a crush on Zack._

* * *

Zack was disappointed when his teacher told him that Cloud wouldn't be tutoring him for half of the day since he had tests to do. He gave his teacher the puppy pout, hoping that would do something, but she just shook her head and told him that there was nothing she could do about it. He didn't know who he should blame more: his teacher for not being able to do anything about it or Cloud's teachers for assigning the tests.

"Where's Cloud, Zack?" Zell asked him.

"He has to do tests today, it sucks man," Zack said, there was a bit of a whine in the tone of his voice.

Zell smiled as Paine came over to where Zack was sitting at his desk, or rather sitting _on_ his desk with his feet on the chair. "Awe, it sounds like you love him Zack," she said, teasing. Zell's smile widened.

Zack made a face at her. "I do not _love_ him, Paine."

"Yes you do, either that or you just want to get in the poor boy's pants."

Zack cringed. It was like she had actually struck him over the head with a stick. "I do not want to get in his pants and I don't love him. Jeez, now I know why your parents named you Paine."

Zell laughed. "Ha, good pun, Zack." Paine punched him, making Zell stop laughing. The poor blonde raised his hand to the sore spot on his arm and rubbed it a few times, looking to see if a bruise was starting to form.

"No, that's a bad pun. And Zack I know you love him, Lulu said so herself."

"Well for once, Lulu is wrong."

"Tell her that, not me."

Zack sighed. Who was he kidding? He didn't _love _Cloud. He just thought the blond was cute. The blond made him smile every time he saw him. Those blue eyes always got him distracted when Cloud was trying to say something important. He loved those blue eyes. They were tempting.

"She also told me to tell you that she didn't say you love him right now," Paine said, catching Zack's attention.

Zack thought about that, wondering if what Lulu was predicting was true. Most of the things she said _were_ true. Yeah, it freaked him out that she was right half of the time but still. What if he did love Cloud later on? Zack shook his head at the thought. Even if he did love Cloud, he figured that Cloud would never love him back. And the more he thought about it, he wondered what Cloud _did _think about him.

"I don't think so," Zack said, standing up and walking out of the room.

* * *

Cloud walked into the classroom, that was better defined as his and Zack's classroom, after seeing that Zack wasn't in his regular class. When he saw that Zack was already there with everything set up, his instincts told him that something was wrong. Why would Zack be reading, or pretending to read, a history book? Cloud's only answer was that something was wrong.

The moment Zack looked up at him, their eyes connecting, Cloud felt his heart sink. Cloud slowly walked over and sat himself down across from Zack. He was handed a history textbook by Zack and Cloud felt his stomach curve.

"Cloud," Zack finally said, "can I ask you a question?"

Cloud nodded. _You ask me three questions everyday._

"This sounds stupid but what do you think about me?"

The question surprised Cloud. He hadn't expected anything like it whatsoever. "I'm not sure what you mean, but you make me smile. That's something others aren't and haven't been able to do, if that helps with anything."

Zack pursed his lips. "I know that but give me something that you think I am. You know, one of those noun things or whatever they're called."

_You're cute and I have a big crush on you,_ he could say that. Yeah right, he thought. "I know this may sound corny but you're a good friend and I know I can trust you. I know that you're not the type of person to just give up on something or someone." _At least, I hope you are._

"So you're saying that I'm a pretty good friend?" Cloud nodded. "What about something more than friendship?" Cloud looked down and blushed, making Zack smile. "I'm just teasing you, Cloud."

Cloud nodded. "Okay," he said, looking at that smile. _Well, at least he's happy Zack again._ _He's so cute._ Cloud blushed at his evil thoughts, making it all too noticeable to Zack.

"Awe, Cloudy you're blushing. What's his name?" Zack sang.

_Zack,_ he thought, causing himself to blush more. He bit his bottom lip. "What do you mean?" _Great, I'm being too noticeable and now he knows that I like someone. Why did he have to say HIS name though? Oh right, that part… Damn it._

"You're blushing more than usual. There has to be someone you've got your eye on."

_You,_ he thought.

"What's his name?" Zack asked again.

_Zack Fair;_ damn it, mind shut up!

"There's nobody…and I doubt there ever will be." Oh shit, did he just say that last part out loud?

Zack raised an eyebrow. _Damn it Cloud, why can't you keep your mouth shut_, Cloud thought to himself. "I think there's someone for you, and if you would tell me his name then I could get you hooked up with him."

_Tell him, tell him he's the guy you have a BIG crush on. _Cloud shook his head. "I'm not even sure I like him _like_ that. I mean, I just met him." _Damn it, I just admitted to Zack and myself that I'm gay and that I like him. My life is over…_

Zack's face fell a bit, causing Cloud's heart to ache. "Oh, think I know who it is."

Cloud felt nervous, he knew he'd given Zack too much information. He thought it was bad enough that he was admitting it was a _guy_ that he might like, but this was worst. Maybe Zack didn't know… Why was he so sad? He's gay, isn't he? Why would he-? He said that he was pretty sure that he knew who it was-oh. _Damn it_, Zack thought he liked one of his friends.

"He's not a friend of yours, Zack." _Well, it wasn't exactly the truth but it wasn't a lie either._

Zack sighed. "Okay, I'll believe you but I'm not letting this go. You said that you didn't know if you liked him like that, right?" Cloud nodded. "I'm not exactly sure what you mean by that but I'll figure it out. Now let me ask you something else: what the hell is up with your hair?" Zack asked, grinning.

Cloud bit his lip. "I…uh, took a shower this morning," he said awkwardly.

"Awe, that's why it looks so fluffy then. Y'know, with your hair like that, it makes you look like a chocobo."

"A chocobo," Cloud asked, confused.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, y'know the big yellow birds that you hardly see anymore. I think you wouldn't look so much like a chocobo if you're eyes weren't blue."

Cloud shook his head. "Zack, you're crazy," _and cute, damn it._

"I can be crazier if you want me to, Chocobo."

Cloud rolled his eyes. "I think you're crazy enough as it is."

To be honest with himself, he didn't really mind Zack giving him all these strange nicknames. If it would have been anyone else he would've probably told them that they weren't allowed to call him that or smack them, but Zack was different.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment. Okay, let's get started on this." Zack looked down at his book for five seconds before looking back up at Cloud again. "Can we just skip this part?"

Cloud smiled. _How can I say no to him? He's got the puppy look and…_ "No, but we don't have to do it right now."

Zack stood up, stretching. "Then that means we have to do something else, doesn't it?" he asked. Cloud saw a look of disappointment on the other's face, making the blond smile to himself. He could never say no to that face.

"I don't know, unless you want me to come over and-"

"Cloud, I love you," Zack said, hugging Cloud.

Cloud tensed under Zack's hug. He wasn't used to sudden touches like this and it was kind of awkward for Zack to be hugging him since Cloud was pretty sure he was crushing on the guy. It did feel nice though...

Zack pulled away, rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, sorry about that," Zack said, smiling awkwardly at Cloud.

Cloud just shook his head. "It's okay."

* * *

That night, after Zack had walked Cloud home (Tiffany had asked him to again), Cloud sat at his desk with his laptop in front of him. After Zack had asked him what kind of music he liked (one of the three questions), Cloud had told him that he wasn't sure. Zack had almost flipped when he heard him say that and gave him a couple CD's to borrow and listen to. He was trying to concentrate on the music and read his book at the same time, but he found himself concentrating too much on his book and the music zoned out of his mind. So he started to listen to the music more but found himself reading the same sentence over and over again. After a while the CD repeated itself from the beginning and Cloud gave up on his book, setting it down on his desk. A soft knock was heard on his door and he looked up to see his dad coming in.

"Hey," Steve said, walking into the room and taking a seat on the edge of Cloud's bed (that was right across from where his desk was). His attention went to the music that was playing and he looked at Cloud as the boy turned in his chair. "I didn't know that you liked this band."

Cloud looked at his computer, paused the music before looking back at his dad. "Neither did I. Zack let me borrow some CD's to listen to after I told him I wasn't sure what I liked."

Steve smiled. "He seems like he's a nice boy, considering he's walked you home three times already."

Cloud thought of the first time Zack had walked him home, then the second, and today. It seemed that Zack was always willing to do anything for him and he always had a smile on his face, no matter what. He thought of the hug he'd received from the other today and blushed. He seemed to be doing that more often…_and it was because of Zack._

"Dad, how do you know when you like someone," Cloud asked. Why was he asking his dad this? _Oh yeah, because I can't tell Aerith without her telling Tifa and I can't tell Zack because he's the one that I'm sure I have a crush on_.

"What do you mean? Do you like as in…"

"As in you have a crush on someone," Cloud said, biting his lip and looking down at the floor.

"Okay, well first, who is it? I know there has to be someone, otherwise you wouldn't be asking me this question and I don't think you'd be blushing like that."

Cloud looked at his dad's face and then looked down again. _Should I tell him? Yeah, he's my dad. It's not like he can tell the whole school or make fun of me._ "Promise not to laugh or anything?" His dad nodded. "It's Zack," he said, looking up to see his dad's face.

"Oh, so does this mean…?"

Cloud nodded. "Yes, but I want to make sure first. I'm pretty sure I know that I do like him, but I don't know."

"Okay, how do you know when you like someone?" Cloud nodded. "You smile a lot around them or when you think about them. You'll find yourself thinking about them a lot more than what you usually think about someone. Your stomach tightens or flips flops and you want to be close to them. I know that's kind of hard for you to do but its possible when you like someone. Does any of that help?" Cloud nodded. "You know you have to tell me now since you asked, right?"

Cloud sighed. "I figured that. Yeah, all of that pretty much happens. I think I like him." _'I think?' jeez Cloud, why can't you just admit it to your dad like you did earlier?_

Steve smiled. "Are you going to tell him?"

Cloud looked up at his dad, meeting his eyes. "No, and don't tell anyone or else they'll tell him."

"Okay," his dad said.

"I'm serious, dad. You can't even tell my principal. She's his aunt, remember?"

"You can't hide how you feel, Cloud."

"I know...I'm just not ready to tell him. I will eventually, I promise."

His dad smiled once more and stood up, patting Cloud's shoulder. "Don't wait too long Cloud, Zack's a handsome boy and could be easily taken by someone else."

Cloud covered his ears and closed his eyes. "Dad, I didn't want to hear that." He felt his face grow hot as it turned a dark hue of red.

"I know, but you had to hear it." His dad walked to the door, turning back to look at Cloud one more time. "Night, Cloud."

* * *

Yayz, new chappy!  
I think I'm almost done writing the story and hope to post it all up soon. I wanna get to working on those other stories I have in progress. Oh, and I'm already thinking of a sequel to this story later on. But that's way out of the question for now.  
I went over it and found a few mistakes and fixed those and added some new things to make it a little bit better. Point out any mistakes that you notice that I didn't and I'll go fix that.  
I am so happy the way this story is progressing. It makes me so happy.D  
**~zackslittlepuppy**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

When Zack had asked if he would like to hang out over the weekend, Cloud had forgotten to think of what day the weekend was: Halloween. If it would've been anyone else, Cloud would've tried to think of a way to get out of the situation. He would've tried to think of a way not to go. But this was Zack and there was no way, he knew, that he could tell Zack no.

"Are you going trick-or-treating or to a party?" Steve asked, his eyes focused on a book as he sat in a recliner. Cloud was sitting on the couch, waiting for Zack.

"Uh, I'm not sure…"

His dad hummed, not looking up from his book. "Should I ask him or no?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. If you feel like you have to then I wouldn't mind. You're the parent."

Steve smiled a little, finally looking up from his book with a sigh and looked over at Cloud. The poor kid was tapping his fingertips together, a sign that he was nervous, something that he had gotten from his mother. "Cloud, you don't have to go if you don't want to. I can just tell Zack that you're not feeling well."

Cloud shook his head. "No, he'll know that I'm just trying to get out of it. He's good at that kind of stuff."

His dad smiled as there was a knock at the door. He stood up and looked out the window, then looked back at Cloud. "It's Zack."

Cloud felt his stomach drop as his dad answered the door. The moment Zack was invited in, he waved at Cloud. The blond felt his cheeks become red as Zack gave him _that_ smile. Steve noticed this and lightly chuckled, hiding the smile behind his hand.

"Hey Chocobo, are you ready?" Cloud blushed more when Zack called him _Chocobo._

"S-sure, but…where are we going," Cloud asked, looking at his dad and back at Zack.

"Lulu's, she's having a Halloween party at her house."

_Oh great, what if Lulu sees right through me and figures out that I have a crush on Zack? Would she say anything? Would she do anything? Does she even have that sort of "power" to see right through me?_

"If you're worried about illegal things, then don't. She's already informed everyone that they can't bring anything but their selves. And trust me you do not want to piss her off."

Cloud nodded. "O-okay…" he said, getting up and walking over to Zack.

Steve crossed his arms and looked at Zack. "Zack," he said, causing Zack to look at him with full attention. _Why can't I or any of the teachers get him to do that?_ And then Cloud looked over at his dad; yeah, he could be scary if he wanted to. "I'm leaving Cloud in your responsibility. If anything happens to him, I'm coming after you," he said, adding a small smile that meant he was just playing out an act.

Zack just grinned. "I won't let anything happen to him," he said, giving the thumbs up, "I promise." Zack then turned to Cloud, ruffling his hair. "Ready to go, Cloud?" he asked.

Cloud nodded. "Uh, Zack, how are we getting there? I mean, how far does Lulu live?"

There was that damn smile again! "I have a motorcycle outside, Spike. Didn't you hear it?"

Cloud shook his head. Once Zack's words sunk in though, his eyes widened. "Uh…a motorcycle," Cloud asked in shock.

Zack nodded, grinning. "Yeah, is that okay?" Zack asked, looking at Cloud once before looking over at Steve, who gave a slow nod.

_Say yes, you idiot, Cloud told himself._ Cloud nodded, not able to find any words. _Hm, this should be interesting: riding on the back of a motorcycle with Zack. Damn, that means I'm going to have to hold on to him. I hate my life…_

"You do have helmets, right?" Steve asked.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, I was _reminded_ to take an extra helmet with me."

_Reminded? Oh right, his aunt must've told him to do that._

"Okay, I was just making sure. Have fun Cloud," Steve said with a wink.

Cloud looked down and blushed as he followed Zack out of the house and slowly raised his head to see the silver and black motorcycle. Zack walked over to it and handed Cloud a helmet. Cloud looked at it for a moment before putting it on his head. And that was when he realized that he didn't know how to deal with the straps. How the heck was he supposed to keep his head if he didn't know how to tighten the helmet?

"Uh…Zack, I…uh, I need help," he said. He felt his face become hot, even in the cold Halloween air.

Zack grinned and took the straps in his hand. "Okay, take this one and put it through here, then do this sort of thing, and…" Zack clicked the end of the strap at the upper left of the helmet, "…snap."

Even though Cloud had been given a tutorial of how to fasten the helmet, he wasn't paying attention (for once in his life). He had gotten lost from Zack's words and into those damn eyes. The bad part was that he was staring too. He didn't even realize it until Zack waved his hand slowly in his face to get his attention. Cloud jumped a bit.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"What were you thinking about this time?" Zack asked, crossing his arms. It looked like they weren't going anywhere for a while from the way Zack was standing.

_Oh right, our _deal. "I was trying to remember how to work the helmet," he lied.

Zack sighed. _Of course it was, Cloud. I know you're lying so why can't you just tell the truth? I've seen your eyes when you're trying to calculate something. You were staring at something. What is it? Why can't you tell me?_ "Okay fine, I'll let that one slide this time." Zack put on his own helmet and grabbed something that was on the back seat. "Here, you might want to put this on," Zack said, handing Cloud a leather jacket. Cloud awkwardly put it on as Zack started the bike. "Okay, you can get on now."

Cloud took a deep breath as he held onto Zack's shoulder and put his foot on a small peg. He put his weight down and swung his leg over, letting go of Zack's shoulder.

"Hold on tight, Cloud. I don't want to have to explain to your dad that it was your fault because you wouldn't hold on." Zack waited until he felt Cloud's arms wrap around his waist. "A little tighter, Cloud."

Cloud bit his lip before squeezing tighter. He felt Zack shift a little as they started to move. Their speed started to increase and Cloud felt the wind blowing in his face, making him get goose-bumps. The fast motions that went by them were starting to make him feel woozy. He hid his face in Zack's back, squeezing a little tighter. _Oh please make it stop_.

Zack had felt Cloud squeeze him tighter and put his head against his back. He thought about turning to see if he was okay, but he figured that might scare the poor kid. Was he scared of riding or did he just get motion sickness? _Poor Cloud_, he thought as he stopped at Lulu's house. Cloud hadn't let go of him yet and his face was still buried into his back.

"Hey Cloud, we're here," Zack said, turning the engine off and balancing the bike.

Cloud looked up to see a huge house. _Oh, no wonder Lulu has a party at her house._ The place looked like it was taken good care of, and it probably was. Cloud looked at Zack and wondered why he wasn't moving, (well, he was taking his helmet off). He looked down and noticed that his arms were still tightly wrapped around Zack's waist, causing Cloud to blush. He slowly let go and held onto Zack's shoulders and swung his leg over, hopping off of the bike. Zack kicked something at the bottom of the bike, the kickstand, and let the bike fall a bit to the side until the stand stopped it.

"Sorry…" Cloud muttered as Zack took the keys out and got off the bike.

Zack snapped the helmet's strap and let it hang on the bike's handle. He looked over at Cloud, who was still wearing his helmet. "You should be… I told you to hang on tight, not let go," Zack teased with a smile. He reached up to Cloud's helmet and undid it, allowing Cloud to take the helmet off. _Aw, he has helmet hair, how cute. _Cloud looked at him and smiled a little, making Zack ruffle his hair. "Okay, let's go little Chocobo."

Cloud followed Zack to the house and was a little confused when Zack just opened the door and walked in without knocking. Did Zack always do this? But once they were in the house, Cloud understood why Zack hadn't knocked.

There was so much noise from everyone talking and the small beat of music playing somewhere. Wasn't this the type of parties that usually ended up with someone calling the cops? Cloud wasn't sure and he wasn't really thinking about that at the moment. He was looking around. A few people he recognized, the others he didn't because they were wearing costumes that were hiding their features. Cloud looked over at Zack to only find that he wasn't there. He looked behind him, only to get pushed by some guy wearing a weird mask. He walked a bit further into the house until he found someone he did know: Lulu.

"Cloud, it looks like you came after all. I guess Zell just lost twenty dollars."

"He…lost twenty dollars?" Cloud asked.

Lulu pulled on his arm and led him into the kitchen, probably because of the noise. "Yeah, he and Zack had a little _bet_ about whether or not you would come. You didn't know?" Cloud shook his head, feeling his chest sting. "I see. Do you know where he is?"

Cloud shrugged. "I really don't know."

"I see."

"Cloud, you're here," someone almost shouted. Cloud turned a bit-bad decision. He found himself getting a massive hug from Yuffie, and she was squeezing a bit _too_ tight. "Ha, Zell owes me!"

Lulu sighed. "He made a bet with you too?" She shook here head. "He's going to have to get a second job if he keeps this up."

Cloud look at Yuffie as she pulled away and noticed that she was wearing a ninja costume. At least, it was what used to be a ninja costume. The spunky little girl had cut everything short so that her skin was showing. _Maybe it's a little too short…_

"Duuuude, when did Zack get here? Ah, Cloud? Damn it, I didn't think you'd come," Zell said as he entered the room. The moment he did, Yuffie held out her hand, wanting the money he owed her. "Okay, okay…I'll pay you later." Zell dug into his back pocket when Yuffie continued to hold out her hand. "I'll give you half. Damn, I still need to pay Zack."

"Zell," Lulu said, "How much money do you have?"

He shrugged. "I have enough to give Zack his twenty, why?"

Lulu shook her head. "I was just wondering." The girl sighed as she watched Zell give Yuffie half of the money. "You need to stop making these bets."

"I know and I'll eventually get to it. But right now, I have to find Zack. Hey Cloud, you came here with him right? Do you know where he's at?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, I don't."

"Wait, did you come here with Zack on his motorcycle?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah, why…?"

"Yuffie-"

"You sat on the backseat, right?" Cloud nodded, not knowing of any other "seat". "Did you know that the backseat of a motorcycle is referred to 'the bitch seat'?"

"It is?" Cloud asked, looking at everyone around him.

Yuffie nodded. "Yup, I'm just curious to know if that would make you Zack's bitch."

"Yuffie, shut up," Lulu said.

Yuffie shrugged to herself and walked away. Cloud noticed that Zell had walked off too, probably to go look for Zack. That left him alone with Lulu and just thinking about it made him nervous. Sure, Yuffie's little "bitch seat" information freaked him out but Lulu could be scary.

"You don't have to worry about Yuffie, Cloud. She doesn't know what she's talking about half the time." Cloud just looked at a random item in the kitchen. Yeah, he was listening to Lulu but he didn't want to look her in the eyes at the moment. He was afraid that she'd look right through him and see his crush for Zack. "You can go look for Zack if you want. I know you want to."

Cloud nodded before walking away. He would admit that he was close to Zack's friends and even his own friends but he was closer to Zack. Zack was just so… _I have a crush on him_, Cloud told himself. That's why he felt close to Zack. He thought that Zack was cute and that's why he felt closer to him. All of it…was just because of a stupid crush. Cloud shook his head as he pushed through some people, a few he had to almost crawl underneath. Where was Zack?

_Zack…_

He ran into Zell, who stopped him from his search for Zack. "Are you looking for Zack?" Cloud nodded as Zell pointed down a hallway. "He's down there, lucky bastard." Cloud would've asked what Zell meant by that but the blonde had already walked away. He started walking in the direction Zell had pointed to.

The moment he did, he wished he hadn't. He saw Zack talking to a guy with reddish short hair. He'd never seen the guy at school before but maybe he didn't go to school around here or at all. The guy looked like he was a bully of some sort. He kept looking at Zack with this lustful look on his face that sent chills down Cloud's spine. Cloud held his breath when he saw the guy push Zack against the wall. Zack looked like he was annoyed with the other but Cloud was paying more attention to what the redhead was going to do. His mind stopped working when he saw two lips meet. His mouth dropped and he choked for air. He started to walk backwards slowly, almost tripping over something-or someone. He wasn't really sure but he didn't care at the moment. Slowly, he turned and speed walked out of the house.

The night air was strikingly cold but Cloud didn't care. He sat down on the steps, burying his head into his arms and legs. His chest hurt-no, his _heart_ hurt. Why did he care so much about this? Zack wasn't his boyfriend. It shouldn't have mattered to him this much. But why was Zack kissing that other guy and who was he? A single tear ran down his cheek, stinging his face sharply because of the cold.

And then, the reason hit him. Cloud groaned at the thought and clutched his stomach, feeling butterflies. He heard the front door open and quickly dried his face. Someone sat down by him and he turned to see that it was Squall. Why was he out here?

For quite a long moment, it seemed like that to Cloud, Squall stared at him. "You do know that Zack is in there looking for you, don't you?"

Cloud looked down at the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with the other teen. "Why?" he asked.

Squall shrugged, shaking his head a bit. "I don't know but you should probably go see what he wants."

Cloud thought about it for a few seconds until he stood up and walked back into the house. He wasn't really sure where Zack was or how to find him, so he just started walking around until he found Yuffie. The small girl bumped into him, as she was spinning around in circles. She turned to see who she had bumped into and her eyes lit up when she saw who it was.

"Hey there, Cloud! Oh, if you're looking for Zack, he's over there. I think he's actually been looking for you."

He just nodded, gave her a weak smile, and walked in the direction that Yuffie had pointed to and told him where Zack was. Either the girl was really dizzy from spinning or she was drunk. Cloud didn't have time to pick which because at that time he had finally found Zack leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. _It sure doesn't look like he's looking for me_. He took a moment to make sure that the other dude wasn't around and walked up to Zack.

"Cloud, where've you been?" Zack asked, pushing himself off the wall when he saw Cloud.

Cloud shrugged, not looking at Zack. "I was looking for you."

"Aw, I'm sorry Cloud. I guess we'll have to tie ourselves together next time we- Hey, have you been crying?" Zack brought his hand up to touch Cloud's cheek and his heart sunk when Cloud turned away. "You okay?"

Cloud nodded, looking at Zack. "Yeah, I'm fine." He even gave Zack a small smile, hoping that would work.

Zack sighed. He knew that there was something bothering Cloud. "Cloud, I know you're lying to me. What's wrong?"

_Everything_, he thought to himself. He couldn't really put into words if he had actually said that and Zack asked why, but he didn't want to think about that. He shook his head, hoping that Zack would just let it go. But Zack wasn't going to let it go, he wanted to know what was wrong with Cloud. Cloud held back the tears that were blurring his vision but his eyes betrayed him and one tear spilled down his cheek slowly.

"Cloud, do you want me to take you home?" Zack asked and Cloud nodded, looking away from Zack. _Why did I have to cry?_ "Okay, can you at least tell me what's wrong?"

Cloud shook his head, rubbing the small wet streak on his face. "N-no, it's complicated and I can't explain it."

Zack just nodded as he put his hand on Cloud's back and walked out of the house. He knew that Cloud _could_ explain it to him but he wasn't going to push the other at the moment. They walked over to where Zack had parked his motorcycle and Zack helped Cloud with his helmet before putting his own helmet on. After he got on the bike, he could tell that it was a little more awkward for Cloud to get on the bike than it was before. Well, maybe it wasn't as awkward because Cloud didn't waste time to wrap his arms around Zack. Zack felt him hold on tighter as they started moving and just like before, Cloud buried his face in Zack's back.

Cloud closed his eyes and sighed. Why did he react that way? Zack must hate him, he must. Cloud felt like his chest was on fire, but like it was sinking into the bottom of a lake. Was it because of Zack? Yeah, maybe it was a little bit. Seeing him kissing that guy had nearly…broke his heart? Why did it hurt so much? Zack wasn't his boyfriend. Was he supposed to feel this way?

"Cloud, you okay?"

Cloud looked up and nodded, letting go of Zack and getting off of the bike. Zack did the same, reaching for Cloud's helmet. Cloud let Zack take his helmet off but he didn't look at Zack. If he had been looking at Zack, he knew that he would look into those eyes.

"Are you going back to the party?" Cloud asked.

Zack shook his head, holding the helmet by its strap. "Probably not, I saw someone there that's the last person I want to see."

_Was it the guy that had his tongue down your mouth?_ Cloud looked at Zack and then at the ground. _It still hurts._

"Cloud," Zack said, making Cloud's eyes meet his. The blonde's eyes looked like he had been crying more. Zack wondered if Cloud would cry all of it out once he was alone. "Never mind, it's not that important I just… You should probably go, you know, so your dad doesn't think I'm making out with you."

Zack's attempt to humor Cloud didn't work as Cloud didn't say or do anything but stare into Zack's eyes for a while, hoping to get something that told him that Zack didn't like that guy. After nothing, he gave up and turned to walk up to his house. "See ya, Zack," he said with a wave and started walking.

Zack nodded and waved back, getting on his bike. He waited until Cloud walked up to his house and was inside before he rode off. He promised himself that he'd find a way to get Cloud to talk to him and tell him what was bothering him.

The moment he heard Zack's motorcycle ride off, he felt his heart sink. He wasn't sure where his dad was, but he wasn't concerned with that at the moment. He walked to his room and closed the door behind him, walking over, and falling onto, his bed. He buried his head in the pillow, letting the tears fall down his face. He silently let out a scream into his pillow.

After a few minutes, Cloud felt himself shuddering from crying too much. The door to his room opened, causing some light to trespass into his room. He didn't bother to look up though. He knew who it was. His bed shifted a bit when his dad sat down next time. He felt a hand run through his hair and just by the touch Cloud knew his dad was worried about him. He turned his head a little to the side so that he could see his dad's face.

"What happened, Cloud?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head. "I don't know, I saw Zack kissing a guy at the party and…I don't know. I feel sick."

He heard his dad laugh a little. _What the hell? I get done crying and my dad is laughing at me. What the hell?_

"I'm sorry Cloud it's just that…it sounds like you have a touch of puppy love."

Cloud's face scrunched up in confusion. _Puppy love, what was that supposed to mean?_ "I don't understand."

Steve smiled. "I know you said that you have a crush on Zack, and that's basically what puppy love is; only it's a little bit of love."

Cloud thought about it before hiding his face in his pillow and blushing, letting out a small groan. He loved Zack? Well, it _was_ puppy love, right? Was it _just _"puppy love"? Did he love Zack just a little bit? _Oh, I don't want to think about it right now. _Cloud thought, groaning in the pillow again.

He heard his dad laugh again before he continued to touch Cloud's hair. Cloud would never admit it, even though his dad knew, that someone touching his hair like this always calmed him. "So was this guy Zack's boyfriend?"

Cloud sat up, putting his arms around his legs. "I don't know, I just seen them kissing. I don't even know who the guy is or how he knows Zack."

"I see, but if you don't know him, how do you know that Zack likes him or that they're close at all?"

Cloud shook his head and looked at his dad, giving him a certain look that meant _duh._ "Dad, they were _kissing_."

"Okay, then what was Zack's reaction to this kiss? Did he do anything that would make it seem like he liked this boy?"

Cloud shrugged. "I'm not sure. My eyes were more focused on the guy that was shoving his tongue down Zack's throat."

His dad smiled at him. "You should ask him tomorrow or Monday and see what he says." Cloud looked down at the comforter on his bed. "It doesn't mean you're crazy if you're acting this way, Cloud. You've just got puppy love…really bad."

Cloud groaned and threw his face into his pillow once again. "Dad," he whined, causing Steve to laugh. "When will it stop?" he asked.

His dad smiled and rubbed his back. "I can't tell you that, Cloud. Sometimes it stops real soon after the crush and other times it can go on for years, and sometimes it never stops."

"I feel sick," Cloud muttered.

"You're not sick. You'll be fine and it may go away if you tell him how you feel." Steve got up and walked to the door, turning to face Cloud. "He probably would want his jacket back, too."

Cloud looked down. A familiar garment was still wrapped around him. After his dad left, Cloud sniffed the collar, calling himself crazy for doing so. It smelled just like Zack and he smiled to himself a bit, curling up in his bed. Cloud closed his eyes as the scent of Zack surrounded him. His smile deepened at the thought of Zack. _I must look like an idiot, smiling in my sleep_. He didn't really care thought. He was still wearing Zack's jacket.

* * *

Awwww! Cloud's so cute, sleeping in Zack's jacket. XD  
I am such a crazy person myself. I had to actually Google "motorcyle anatomy" to make sure the peg was actually a "peg". And I'm even more crazy having Zack ride his motorcyle towards the end of October. ...whatever.  
Press the review button, please. Let me know if there are any mistakes. (I fixed a few).  
And let me know how this chapter made you feel.  
**~zackslittlepuppy.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

On Monday, things were different from any other Monday. Sure, he did the regular stuff but that was beside the point. Cloud was about to grab a jacket from his closet until he remembered and saw Zack's jacket sitting on his chair. Just the thought of Zack made him smile as he wrapped the garment around him, snuggling into its warmth. He kept it on and close to him until he got to his locker and went to find Zack. Instead, however, he found Aerith and Tifa (who wanted to talk to him).

"Hi Cloud, how was your weekend?" Aerith asked. _That was different; usually Tifa's the one to ask that._

Cloud shrugged. "It was okay," he said, shifting the jacket in his arms and smiling a little.

"Hey look, he actually smiled. Aw…is there a special someone that you're not telling us about?" Tifa asked, making her voice sing in a teasing tone.

"W-what do you mean?"

"You said it was _okay_ and you _smiled_. There has to be someone unless something good actually happened over the weekend."

Cloud looked down at Zack's jacket. Did he say it like that? Did he say it to make it sound like he was with someone? The way Tifa had said it; it made it sound like there _was_ someone. _Well, Dad did say that I have "puppy love", and it's all because of Zack._

"You can't say that there isn't anyone because Aerith told me that you asked her about what's it's like to have a crush, so…what's his name?"

_Damn, I shouldn't have asked Aerith._ "There is nobody," he said. _If only that was a lie…_

"Oh, so then you don't have a crush on this guy?" Aerith asked.

Cloud didn't have time to answer as he felt an arm warp around his shoulder. He looked to his right to see Zack. On the inside, he was smiling. In his head, he hugged Zack. He knew that Aerith and Tifa were watching him and would get the idea that he liked Zack. Even thought it was true, he wasn't ready for the whole school knew.

"Hey Cloud, is that my jacket?"

"Oh, yeah, you probably want it back, right?" Cloud asked, starting to handoff the jacket.

Zack shrugged, making Cloud pull the jacket back. "Not really, but you can have it if you tell me what was wrong Saturday," Zack said, giving him a certain look that made Cloud's whole body tingle. Zack wasn't kidding, he really wanted to know what was bothering Cloud.

Cloud knew that Tifa and Aerith were about to ask what happened and he could feel their eyes lingering on him. He looked down. His cheeks reddened a little as Zack's fingertips brushed against his shoulder and back. "I…I'm, I'll tell you later."

The warning bell went off and everyone in the hallways started to go off in their own direction towards their first hour class, including Zack and Tifa. Cloud walked to his locker, finally free from Zack's comforting arms, and hung the jacket up, grabbing his stuff while he was at it. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone standing next to him and just by blurred figure; he could tell that it was Aerith.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you like Zack," Aerith said.

Cloud turned to her, shutting his locker. "Why would you say that?"

Aerith shrugged. "Well, you smile whenever he's around, he makes you blush and you have this look in your eyes that says that you like him."

"If I do, why would you care?" Cloud asked, looking down at the tiled floor.

"Cloud, I'd care because you _actually_ like someone. I know Zack is a juvenile and immature, even though he doesn't really act like it, but I can tell he's not a bad person. In my honest opinion, I think he's a great guy."

Was she serious? _Is she trying to be my mother?_ Aerith was _always_ acting like a mother or big sister to him. And after saying that, it was like she was giving him some sort of permission (the way a mother would do) to be with Zack if he ever got the chance.

"Um…"

"I won't tell Tifa, if that's what you're worried about. I know how you feel about her knowing some things and I know she can be quite a chatterbox and a bit bossy. It's like if Tifa knows, the whole school knows. Am I right?"

Cloud nodded. "Uh, thanks?"

Aerith nodded. "Okay, you should go or you'll be late for class."

Cloud stared for a moment as she walked away. He turned and walked off to his classes, getting assignments, information on what to study, and whatnot before walking to Zack's class. Zack had practically jumped up and ran out of the room, walking with Cloud to _their_ classroom.

"So are you going to tell me what was wrong?" Zack asked as they entered the room.

Cloud put his stuff down on the desk as Zack started rearranging. "It was nothing, I just saw something that made me upset."

"Huh," Zack said as Cloud sat down. "Are you sure that was it? What did you see?"

Cloud sighed in his head. Was Zack really this concerned on what was wrong with him? He couldn't lie to him, Zack knew when he lied. He could tell him the truth, just not _all _of the truth. "Yeah, I'm sure and I just saw someone I like with another person, but I don't think I like that person anymore." _Yeah, I have puppy love for them instead._ So that wasn't _exactly_ a lie but it wasn't really the truth either.

"Awe, well at least no one hurt you…physically. Wait, _did_ anyone hurt you?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, no one hurt me." And then Cloud remembered what Zack had said that night when he took him home and Cloud had asked if he was going back to the party. "You said that there was someone there that you didn't want to see when you took me home."

"Oh yeah, he saw me and I think he was high or something because he started saying stuff when I _was_ with him. And then he just pushed me against a wall and shoved his tongue down my mouth. You didn't see that did you?"

Cloud felt his stomach calm down as he shook his head. He couldn't really say anything because then Zack would know that he was lying. He felt happy inside now that he knew Zack wasn't with that guy and he didn't like him. He didn't like the kiss and they weren't together. Zack wasn't with anyone. _Damn you, puppy love_.

"Anyway, what are you doing this Saturday?" Zack asked, sitting down.

Cloud felt his stomach flipping again. "I'll probably stay home," he said. _Oh shit, is he about to ask me out?_

"Well, you're not staying home anymore. I'm pulling you with me to go because I think you're too shy. Is that okay if I drag you along?" Cloud nodded. "Okay good, because I wouldn't force you to go if you didn't want to."

"Okay, but where are we going?"

"Yuffie, Zell, and Rikku want to see this new movie that's in theaters. Yuffie can't go anywhere unless Lulu's with her because their parents don't trust her by herself, Zell's making Squall go whether he likes it or not, and Rikku's trying to convince Yuna to come. You should ask Aerith and Tifa to go, too. Tifa's already friends with Rikku, right?" Cloud nodded. "She'll probably get asked by Rikku if I mention something to her, so you should invite Aerith."

"Okay, but what movie is it?"

Zack shrugged. "I didn't bother to ask. If those three are picking the movie though, it's either an action or horror movie. We can always skip the movie though, if you're not into that kind of stuff."

"What do you mean _skip_?"

"Lulu said something about going somewhere after the movie was over, Zell and Rikku say that everyone _has_ to. We can either hang out then until the movie is over or I can pick you up later."

Cloud nodded. "You'd pick me up in a _car_, right?"

Zack smiled and nodded as he got up to go get their books. Cloud found himself staring deep into space. Zack… _No, stop thinking about him, _he told himself. Zack came back with two books in his hand and gave one to Cloud. Cloud felt his face tighten as a smile tried to creep on his lips when Zack's skin brushed against his.

"You had better be thinking of something really funny to be smiling like that," Zack joked, smiling. "You promised me you'd tell me what you were thinking about if I caught you thinking like this. What were you thinking about?"

Cloud shrugged. "It wasn't anything important," he said. _I was thinking about you._

"Oh really," Zack said standing up and walking to Cloud with a devilish smirk on his face. "Cloud, you aren't _ticklish_ anywhere, are you?" Zack asked, holding up his hands to tickle Cloud.

Cloud reacted by scooting his chair back. "You wouldn't," he said.

Zack grinned devilishly. "Oh trust me, I _would_. Unless you tell me what you were thinking about, I won't tickle you."

Cloud didn't have time to jump out of his chair as Zack pinned him down and started tickling at his sides. Cloud jumped a little at the sudden contact and started wiggling in his chair. Zack had a big grin on his face as his hands and fingers flew over Cloud's clothed flesh.

"O…okay, I…I'll tell you," Cloud panted. Zack let go of him and stood back as Cloud took a moment to catch his breath. "Don't laugh at me," he said.

Zack's grin grew. "Why would I laugh at you? Were you thinking about something bad?" Cloud shook his head, still trying to catch his breath. "Were you thinking about someone?"

Cloud nodded, "Yeah, you." _Oh shit, did I just say that out loud?_

Zack smiled at him. "Really, what were you thinking?"

"Just how much of an idiot you are," Cloud joked.

"Ah, why were you thinking that? What'd I do to make you think that? Wow Cloud, that really hurts."

Cloud laughed a little as Zack put a hand over his chest and acted like he was _really_ hurt. "I didn't say that it was bad."

"Oh, so you're saying that you like me as an idiot?"

_I do like you; I have puppy love for you. _"It's kind of hard _not_ to like you," he said.

"Awe, I like you too, Spike. That's why we're friends, right?" Zack asked, giving him that smile.

Cloud nodded.

* * *

It seemed that ever since he met Zack, no matter what, he always had something to do on the weekend. When the Saturday to go to the movies came, Cloud had to be tortured by his dad saying that he and Zack were going out on a _date_.

"It's not a date, Dad," Cloud told him for the umpteenth time.

"Oh, it's not, is it?" Steve asked, teasing. "If it isn't a date, then Zack wouldn't be picking you up, taking you to the movies, go to a place after just to _hang out_, and drop you off at home. It sounds like a date to me, Cloud," his dad said in a mocking-like tone, chuckling.

Cloud groaned. "Why must you be so difficult? You make it sound like we'll do something."

Steve smiled. "I'm supposed to be difficult and how am I supposed to know that you won't do anything."

"We're not dating," Cloud said. "How can we do anything if we're not dating? He doesn't even know I like him and I don't think he'd feel the same way if I told him."

Steve sighed. "You mean you haven't told him how you feel yet? How long are you going to let this go on?" Cloud shrugged as he heard a knock at the front door. He got up to answer it as his dad continued. "Cloud Strife, if you don't tell him then I will."

"Tell who what?" Zack asked as the door opened.

Cloud sighed, looking at his dad before looking back at Zack. "It's nothing Zack; my dad's just being overprotective."

Zack rose and eyebrow and looked at Steve. "What is he being overprotective about?"

Steve started to say something when he saw Cloud begging him with his eyes. He sighed and shook his head. "I'm not being overprotective Cloud, I just worry about you."

Even though the two of them only knew half of what they were talking about, Zack had a feeling that he did. But whatever he was thinking wasn't really what the father and son were thinking. He wrapped an arm around Cloud and pulled the boy close. "Don't worry I'll make sure he stays out of trouble. You hear that, Cloudy? There's no taking little kids' candy and stuff like that," Zack teased.

Cloud blushed as he felt his father's eyes on him. He looked up and knew what his dad was thinking. "Be good, Cloud," he said as Zack pulled the blonde out of the house.

And that was just the beginning of things changing. Once at the movies, Zack had bought a large popcorn for him and Cloud to share. Cloud only took a few bites before deciding that he didn't like it and considered that he was lucky that Zack even bothered to buy him a water bottle.

"_It sounds like a date to me, Cloud."_

Cloud shook his head at his dad's words as the others sat down next to them. He noticed that Yuffie, Rikku, and Zell were impatiently waiting for the movie and almost heard the excitement in their breathing when the lights dimmed and the commercials started. Cloud saw Aerith sitting by Tifa, looking nervous. He couldn't blame the poor girl, he felt nervous himself.

Ten minutes after the movie started, Cloud couldn't follow the storyline. It was just way too complicated and confusing. He looked over at Zack and saw the bored expression on his face. Cloud turned his attention back to the movie, only to get more confused at what was happening and why the guy was trying to kill his daughter. Cloud sighed and shook his head, leaning back in his chair. He tried to fall asleep but the loud noises distracted him from doing so. He tilted his head up so that he could see that dark ceiling and began to think about what his dad had said to him the whole week. Most of it was just stuff telling him to tell Zack how he felt and that he and Zack would look great together. Cloud shook his head at the thought and felt something - or someone - touch his shoulder. He looked down and saw that Zack was resting on his shoulder - no, he was _sleeping_ on his shoulder.

Cloud let Zack stay like that until the movie was over and the lights came back on. It felt comfortable, actually, having Zack rest on his shoulder like that. Being that close to the older teen, he could smell Zack's shampoo. He had been so distracted by Zack's sleeping features that it made him jump a little when the lights came back on.

"Oh, sorry Cloud," Zack said, when he woke up. Cloud just shook his head and murmured something that sounded like "It's okay".

Zack got up and stretched a little, waiting for Cloud to get up and walk out of the aisle way. Once they were out of the once-dark-room, Cloud saw everyone already heading out of the building. Well, everyone except for Rikku and Yuffie, they had to use the bathroom really bad.

"You know, you could've just woken me up," Zack said, walking towards the entrance.

Cloud looked away from him as he started to blush. He shrugged and said, "Yeah, but you looked like you were kind of tired and it didn't really bother me."

Zack rubbed the back of his head as he stopped walking and looked at Cloud. "Huh, I didn't drool on you or anything like that, did I?"

"N-no, you didn't," Cloud said.

They waited for the two girls, Zack saying that Lulu would kill him if they walked out and Yuffie wasn't with them. After the two came rushing towards them, they exited out of the building and Cloud walked over to where Zack's car was. _He must be spoiled or something to have a car like this and a motorcycle_, he thought as he slid into the passenger seat. He looked out of the front window to see Zack talking with Lulu. Zack nodded to whatever she said and walked to his car, getting into the driver's seat.

"Lulu said that everyone wants to go to the mall. Is that okay with you?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, it's okay."

He didn't remember much of what happened at the mall but it didn't really matter to him. It seemed that everyone had something to do except him. Tifa and Rikku were dancing to a song that a nearby store was playing. Lulu had to keep close to Yuffie because the girl was so dang quick. Yuna and Aerith were quickly becoming friends, just like Cloud thought they would because of their personalities, and Zell was picking on Squall. He had been sitting at a water fountain as he watched everyone (and Zack). A group of girls had started to swoon around him and started flirting. Zack didn't push them away but Cloud did notice that he tried his best to show them that he wasn't interested, but the girls were just too ditzy. They kept sending flirtatious smiles to him and one even touched his him.

"Hey girls, there's a real cutie over there," Zack said pointing. Cloud looked over at Zack to see where he was pointing, only to see that he was point at him. He held his breath, telling himself that Zack was just saying that to either get the girls to get away from him or send the message that he was gay.

"Yeah, but he's not as cute as you are," one girls said and Cloud noticed that it was the one that touched his arm.

Zack sighed as he started getting little pieces of paper and Cloud realized that they were giving him their phone numbers. "Okay, but I wasn't hinting for you to talk to him. Anyways, I'm going to talk to him and see where that goes," Zack said, winking.

The girls were confused as Zack started walking over to Cloud but it wasn't until a few seconds later that another guy caught their eyes, and that poor guy just had to be Zell. Zack sat down by Cloud and dropped the little pieces of paper into a nearby trash can. Cloud saw two of the girls looking back and forth at Zack and Zell and wondered when they would take the hint and leave. Did they have to have a big sign in huge letters telling them that he was gay?

"Does that happen a lot?" Cloud asked as Zack leaned back on the bench.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, quite a lot, even some girls at school but they _know_." Zack sighed. "I don't want to push them away and seem like an antisocial guy, but I don't want to give them the wrong idea and attract them either. Am I really that attractive?" Zack asked, looking at Cloud.

Cloud shrugged. "Why are you asking me?" _Yes Zack, you are attractive, you're adorable._

Zack mumbled something but Cloud didn't hear him as the girls flirting with Zell started screaming. Zell gave an awkward smile and wave as he said something to them. Disappointment crossed their faces and they looked back at Zack, who started to inch closer to Cloud, trying to hide. He remembered seeing Lulu and Yuffie telling the girls that Zack wouldn't go with any of them and the snobs almost started a fight. That was when everyone decided it was time to leave.

His dad had begged him to tell him what happened but Cloud made the excuse that he was tired when he got home. He wasn't tired at all but he still went to bed. As he lay there, wide awake, in the dark, he thought about what Zack had asked him. Why _did_ Zack have to ask him that? Even if the was yes or no, he still wouldn't have said it, whether or not he had a crush on Zack or not.

That had all been a week ago. Well, it was a week and a day ago since today was Sunday and it happened to be the day that Tiffany and his dad decided was the best day for their "get-together". Cloud had found himself over at Zack's house, sitting on the couch and watching Zack getting picked on by Rick.

His dad had come to sit by him, probably to see if he was okay. Cloud looked at his dad and saw that he was watching someone. He tried to see who but Tiffany, Rick, and Zack were all in the same place. He looked closer into his dad's eyes and saw that there was a smile of happiness inside. Cloud looked back to see that two of them had moved to a different spot and that one person was a guy. He finally understood what was going on before looking back at his dad.

"Dad," Cloud started, causing his dad to blink and look at him. "You were staring," he said. He wasn't sure how to say it to his dad but something inside him told him to tease him just the same way he had been teased for the past few weeks. "I think you like him."

Cloud saw his dad blush a little before he finally nodded. "Yeah, maybe a little but…I'm not trying to find someone to be with, Cloud. I'm more concerned on you being with someone than I am myself."

"Yeah, but I still have a long way to go before I find someone. You should ask him out," Cloud said. He could tell that they were about to start a battle and he was determined to win this time.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Cloud, I'm not going to ask him out. I don't even know if he's with someone."

Cloud smiled as he thought of the conversation he'd had with his dad when he saw Zack kissing someone. "Why don't you ask him?"

"Okay, now you're just being cocky."

Cloud's smile deepened. "I'm just doing the same thing you did to me."

"That may be but you still haven't said anything."

"I won't say anything until you do." Steve sighed. "Come on Dad, think of it like I'm following in your footsteps but I'll only do it if you do."

"Huh, you drive a hard bargain, Cloud. Okay, I'll do it but not today."

Cloud shook his head. "Look who's talking," he said.

When everything was ready, Cloud found himself sitting next to Zack and his dad, but closer to Zack. Cloud would look at his dad every so often to find him staring at Rick and would smile. Zack had asked a few times what he was smiling about but Cloud just shrugged it off and said that he would tell him later. He couldn't help but notice that Rick was looking at his dad the same way and wondered if he looked at Zack that way.

Afterwards, the "grown-ups" were sitting in the living room watching a comedy and laughed every so often. Cloud and Zack had been _told_ to do the dishes. Cloud didn't mind but he could tell that Zack would've rather watched the movie than wash dishes.

"So what was with all the smiling back there? I've never seen you smile so much," Zack commented as Cloud handed him a plate to dry.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know, I guess it's my dad. He has a crush on Rick."

Zack looked at him and stopped drying the plate. "Are you serious?" Cloud nodded. "Wow, I was wondering why those two hardly said anything. Do you think they'll start dating?"

"Maybe, I made some sort of bet with my dad to ask Rick out."

"What kind of bet is that?"

_Should I tell him?_ "I told him that he has to go out with Rick if he wants me to tell someone that I like him."

"Oh-wait, I thought you didn't like anybody."

Cloud shrugged again, scrubbing at a spoon. "Yeah, I changed my mind after finding out that the person I like isn't with anybody." _Maybe if I give him hints that I like him…_

"You're confusing me, Chocobo," Zack said.

Before they left, Tiffany invited them to have Thanksgiving dinner with them. As much as Cloud knew that his dad would love to, he still said no to the offer, telling her that it was their family time together. Tiffany had then said that it would only be the three of them if they didn't come. She added something along the lines of: the boys can play together. This made Rick laugh at Zack, making the teenage boy pout and completely oblivious to Cloud's blush.

"You make it sound like we're five," Zack pouted.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. "Oh, you know what I mean."

It didn't help that Steve commented on Cloud's blush when they were in the car after telling Tiffany that he would think about the Thanksgiving dinner. The comment made him blush more and he tried to blame it on the cold weather, but his dad was smarter than that. And Cloud knew that his dad was getting "payback".

* * *

Aw... I'll admit that this story makes ME blush sometimes and I'll squeal just reading it.  
So there you go everyone, some of you guess that it was Genesis and: **YOU WERE RIGHT!** YAY!  
Please leave me reviews on your thoughts of this chapter.  
Oh, I'm so excited about Steve and Rick. _***giggles***_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The scent on Zack's jacket was, well, losing its sense of _Zack_. Cloud was disappointed on Monday morning when he buried his nose into the collar and smelled the fragrance of his room. Thoughts of finding out what cologne Zack wore bounced into his head, but he thought that might be creepy and stalker-like. Zack was still doing the three-questions-thing and Cloud considered doing the same, no matter how creepy it sounded.

"So, about this guy you like, what's his name?" Zack asked, pencil in his right hand while his left held down a sheet of paper.

Cloud shrugged as Zack wrote down an answer and he peered over his shoulder to see if it was right, smelling _Zack_. They had changed their seating position for today since Zack needed big time help in his math class and Cloud was almost surprised to see that Zack's answer _was_ right. "I don't know his name. But…can I ask you a few questions? I mean, I feel bad and kind of selfish that I don't know that much about you."

Zack looked up at Cloud and grinned, stretching out in his chair. "Sure thing, Chocobo, but I still get to ask you as _many_ questions as I want, though."

Cloud nodded, ignoring the nickname. _Should I just jump to asking him what cologne he wears? _No, that would seem too weird and risky. He had to start with something small and then_ eventually_ find out what he wore.

"Okay, this may sound stupid but have you done anything _bad_?" Cloud held his breath as he told himself that he was stupid and that the question was stupid. But it was just a distraction for himself and for Zack, until other questions came to him.

"Ah, I think I know what you mean. Have I ever stole something, been caught smoking, or drank anything that's illegal for my age?" Cloud nodded. He knew that he probably sounded like a five year old calling it _bad_ but saying illegal would make Zack sound like a criminal. "Yeah, I did those things but I got a _long_ lecture from Tiffany when she found out that I shoplifted something from a store and Rick made me quit smoking after showing me some very _graphical_ pictures." Zack shook his head, shuddering a bit. "As for drinking, that only happened once and I was with Zell. We swore to each other after that day that we would wait a few more years before we ever drank again. Lulu wasn't very happy when she saw us taking turns purging in her bathroom."

"Is that why she…" Zack nodded before he could finish. "Oh, I see," Cloud said, understanding why Lulu had told everyone that they weren't to bring anything _illegal of age_ to the party.

"What about you, Chocobo? Have you done anything bad?" It took Cloud a minute before he shook his head. "Not even something like lying to your dad or anything?"

Cloud shrugged. "Well there was one time, when I was five that I walked out of my house and went over to Tifa's without telling anyone. Another time, when I was six, I peeked into my dad's closet to see my Christmas presents, but that's it."

Zack's mouth dropped and he shook his head. "No wonder you're so shy, you've barely done anything."

Cloud blushed and did his best to ignore the comment and made to change the subject and ask Zack another question. "This is just curiosity, but who were the two guys that you dated?" Zack cocked his head in confusion. _Gah, I sound like a possessive girlfriend. _"Well, you said that one day that you had sex with three people and two of them were guys."

"Oh that, yeah, I thought you were saying that I only dated three people. Anyway, you may know one if you saw him at the party. He was the one that kissed me, Genesis. The other guy was in my freshmen year, his name was Sephiroth. Before you ask, yeah, he went to this school but he was a senior at that time."

Cloud felt his eyes widen a little. Was Zack…? Did he…? Cloud shook his head. He remembered the rumors that had spread around the school his freshmen year about Sephiroth and a "little cutie" of his. And this "little cutie" had _done_ things with Sephiroth that had been spread through the whole school. That "little cutie", that had done so many things with Sephiroth, was Zack Fair. The rumors went on almost until sophomore year. But they were just rumors, right?

"Cloud… Chocobo, what are you thinking?" Cloud snapped his eyes to Zack's. Zack's eyes were trying to poor into his and he bit the insides of his cheek to keep from blushing. He remembered what he was thinking about and shook his head. "Cloud, you promised that you'd tell me what was going on in that little head of yours," Zack said, tapping Cloud's forehead twice with his pencil.

He sighed. "Okay fine, I was just thinking about the rumors that went around about Sephiroth that year," he said, watching Zack. Zack looked away, making Cloud's heart sink. "So…they were true?"

Zack stared at him for a long time before nodding his head. "Yeah, they were true, and that _was_ me." Cloud looked away from Zack, making the other worry about him. "Cloud that was a long time ago and Paine and Lulu have sworn to kill anyone that brings it up again like before."

His heart was beating so fast and his breathing became ragged. He couldn't look at Zack for some reason. Whenever he tried to, his eyes would start to water and he'd have to look away. After quite some time, Zack stood up and started walking around the classroom. Cloud watched him from a blurred vision and cautiously rubbed his eyes, hoping that his eyes hadn't given any time to redden yet.

"Zack," Cloud quietly murmured, but Zack heard him and was (almost) instantly at his side. "I know they were just rumors, but what parts were true?"

Zack squatted down and sat with his arms on the desk, his chin resting a little on his arms. "Almost all of it, I'm sorry. Do you remember when I told you that it doesn't really matter about saving sex for someone you love?" Cloud nodded, looking at Zack (but not at those eyes, not _those_ eyes). "Well, the reason I said that is because of Sephiroth. He told me things when I was with him and well… Do you get the idea?"

Cloud nodded. "Sort of, but…"

Zack put a finger to Cloud's lips, making the blonde blush. "Hey, whatever's going on in that little brain of yours, stop. I don't know what you're thinking but I can tell you're upset about something and you have nothing to be upset about." Since that day, Cloud didn't think of anything when he heard Sephiroth's name.

* * *

Headphones were set lightly on his head as the music banged through his ears. The beat made him twitch his fingers every now and then. He had his hands behind his head and was staring up at his ceiling, thinking of a _certain_ blonde. Seeing Cloud hurt yesterday had really gotten to him and he wanted to know what was upsetting the blonde. Cloud had just said that he was worried that Zack may have gotten hurt with his past relationship with Sephiroth but Zack didn't really believe him.

He turned his head and looked at the calendar on his wall and sighed. Christmas was still too far away and Cloud's birthday was even _more_ far away. Cloud had given him his CD's back today and told him which ones he liked. Zack was very pleased with that Cloud liked _his_ music because most people (like Squall and Lulu) didn't. He was also surprised when Cloud told him that he had never had a boyfriend (or girlfriend). Zack didn't believe him at first but Cloud somehow convinced him that it was true. And that fact just made Cloud even cuter in Zack's point of view.

Cloud was just so…innocent. Innocent boys were cute, Zack had always thought. Cloud was adorable though and Zack found himself crushing over the poor boy. Zack smiled at the thought of Cloud being innocent. Sure, there were some people in his school that had never had sex but they had had boyfriends/girlfriends. Cloud had never had a boyfriend or girlfriend, he had never kissed anyone (that didn't count as family), he'd never had sex, and he'd never been touched by someone. _No wonder he flinches when I touch him…_

Zack's heart ached for Cloud. He didn't know if it really was his heart that wanted to touch Cloud or if it was _that_ area. _Maybe this was a bad idea…_ Yeah, he regretted it sometimes when he found himself desperately needing attention _down there_ but he was tired of everyone he dated lying to him. Well, the only one that hadn't lied to him was Yuna; but that was just _Yuna_.

He remembered what it was like when he first slept with the petite girl. All of their once-upon-a-time's innocence was gone. Zack had this strange feeling inside that he wanted to be the one to take Cloud's innocence. It sounded selfish but something was throbbing for Cloud right now. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else besides Cloud but the blonde would come to his mind and that rare, adorable smile would cross that beautiful face.

His bedroom door opened and he opened his eyes and looked at it, seeing Tiffany standing there looking back at him.

"Hey Zack, are you ready?" she asked.

Zack lifted the headphones from his ears and shut off his iPod. He walked out of his room and followed her and Rick outside to the car, (the same car that he had picked Cloud up in). He would've explained to Cloud that it wasn't his car, but Rick's, but he wanted to impress Cloud somehow. Something about him made him feel happy inside.

As he slid into the backseat, he had to admit to himself that he didn't know what to think when Cloud wanted to ask him questions. At first, he thought Cloud would ask personal things but he didn't. Cloud may have felt bad for not knowing that much about Zack but Zack was fine with it. He didn't really want Cloud to know that his mother was in a mental institution or that his dad was in prison. Most of all, he didn't want Cloud to know that he went to see a counselor/psychiatrist every Tuesday. He wanted all of that to be hidden away from the blonde.

Tiffany's voice caught him off guard and pulled him away from his thoughts. He took in a deep breath and got out of the car and followed Rick and Tiffany into the large building that smelled of hand sanitizer and detergent spray. Rick sat down on a chair with a coffee table in front of it, loaded with different magazines. He picked one of them up and started flipping through it before tossing back down onto the table and grabbing another one. Tiffany sat in the chair beside him after registering Zack in and pulled a crossword puzzle out of her large purse. Zack walked to the door that held a room that he knew all too well behind it.

"Hello Zackary, how are you today?" the woman said, distracting herself from her computer to him.

Zack kindly waved at her, knowing that the woman probably had a bit of crush on him. She wasn't bad looking, but she wasn't the prettiest girl he'd ever seen either. Her hair was dark brown and hung past her shoulders a bit. She had tan skin, which was probably damaged by the light of a tanning bed, and wore large earrings in her ears with several rings on her fingers. He had assumed that she was, what, in her early twenties? But he didn't really care about how old she was or really anything else about her. He sat down on the small sofa and examined a small Thanksgiving bear she had out for decoration.

"Okay Zack, two weeks ago you were telling me about this boy named Cloud. Do you think you can describe him more?" she asked, clicking her pen and pulling a sheet of paper close to her.

Zack shrugged, not looking at her. He could almost see Cloud's face right there in front of him. His fluffy blonde hair to his blue eyes, his soft baby skin to his the way he blushes. "He's very shy…and innocent. He doesn't really talk to other people and it's amazing just to see him smile."

The woman nodded and wrote something down. "What about his personal life? How much do you know about him?"

"I know almost everything about him," Zack commented, but he didn't want to give her all the details. The only reason she was asking about Cloud was because he was a new friend. She had asked him about all of his friends before, but Cloud was different. "I ask him questions everyday when I get the chance. He doesn't seem to mind but he started asking me questions yesterday. I guess I don't want him to find out about _my_ personal life because I don't want him to feel sorry for me."

"Why do you think that is, Zack?"

Zack sighed, bouncing his leg up and down out of boredom. "I don't know, probably because everyone's used to seeing me so bubbly and high. I guess I just want my friends to know that I'm okay and let them think that there's nothing wrong in my life," he said, playing with a tiny snow globe on her desk now.

"What about Cloud? Do you think he knows or suspects that anything's wrong? You've said before that three of your friends notice that something's wrong but you shrug it off."

_Are we talking about how I feel or Cloud?_ "I'm not sure. He's never asked; but then again, I've been kind of overloading him with questions."

"I see," she said, writing something on her paper before clicking her pen again and meeting Zack's eyes. "Well Zack, we can sit and talk about more things or we can talk next Tuesday."

"Next Tuesday," Zack muttered.

"Okay, that's fine. Anyway, about Cloud, I think you need to tell him about your parents if you want to be close to him. I know you may not like it that he'll probably feel sorry for you, but only a heartless person couldn't feel sorry for someone that's been through your state."

Zack considered the thought before nodding and getting up, exiting the woman's office. He did want to be closer to Cloud but he wasn't sure about letting Cloud in yet. He only knew the boy for about two weeks and it didn't feel right to tell him _just yet_. Rick and Tiffany followed him out of the building and waited until they were in the car before anyone spoke.

"So what did she say?" Rick asked as everyone slid into the car and buckled their seatbelts.

Zack turned towards the window as Tiffany started driving. "She wants me to tell Cloud about mom and…dad." That word was almost too painful to say. "I don't think I can."

Tiffany looked at Zack through the review mirror. "Zack, Cloud's not going to turn you away. It wasn't your fault that that happened to you. What makes you think he would turn you away?"

Zack sighed. "I told him about Sephiroth," he said. There was a brief silence except for the small sounds of the car. "He didn't look like he was happy about it but he didn't push me away either. He looked like he was…sad, like he didn't want to believe any of it."

"Zack, no one wants to believe it," Rick said. "It's hard to think about; especially when it's someone you love."

_When it's someone that you love? What the hell does that mean?_ Was Rick trying to tell him that Cloud loved him? He didn't think that Cloud loved him. It made his heart drop as he thought of that and he rested his head against the window, cursing under his breath when Tiffany went over railroad tracks and he bumped his head against the glass.

Cloud was just…too cute. His blonde hair that fell into his eyes, the blue eyes that held so many secrets…it all drove him crazy. It didn't help that on Wednesday he had showered in the morning and it was all fluffy. He wanted so bad to just touch it, it ached. When Cloud got close enough, he could smell his shampoo. It smelt good, too. Cloud had just blushed when Zack brought his nose up to Cloud's hair and inhaled deeply. Oh, that blush was so cute. Cloud was just so innocent.

"I'm sorry Cloud," he had said, "but you just smell good. What kind of shampoo do you use?"

Cloud blushed and mumbled the name. "Does it really smell that good?" he asked, looking up into Zack's eyes.

Zack smiled at those eyes and nodded. Cloud's eyes were so much like a baby's. They were so cute, so innocent…with little secrets to tell. "Yeah, it smells nice, really nice. I like it," he said. Cloud looked away, blushing more. "Aw, do I make you blush?"

"Y-yeah, just a little," Cloud mumbled, not sure if Zack heard him.

Zack grinned when Cloud tried to hide his face. "Aw, but Cloud, you should see your face when you blush."

Cloud shook his head. "No, that's okay," he said, feeling his face grow hot.

* * *

Crap this chapter's short. I think this one's the only short one, sorry.  
And yes I will be uploading this more. It's just during these past few weeks I went to a wedding, started school, celebrated my brother and aunt's birthday, and took several naps because of school. Ugh...  
Hmm, please review your thoughts or questions. I will explain about Zack's mom and dad, I promise. Just maybe not the next chapter, I don't know, I can't remember...


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

It was now Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving and school had released early just because of it. Zack found out about Cloud walking home in the cold and told him the he didn't want him to catch a cold. Cloud had tried to shrug it off, saying that he'd be fine but Zack said that he'd feel bad if he let him walk home. Cloud was now sitting in the warm seat of the nice car that he had just been in about a week ago when they went to the movies. Zack started the engine and waited a moment, playing with the radio before deciding to turn it off.

"You're still coming over tomorrow with you dad, aren't you?" Zack asked, turning to exit the student parking lot.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, he said that he thought it would be good if there was someone else with us this Thanksgiving. Why do you ask?"

Zack shrugged. "No reason, I was just making sure. Hey, I've got an idea."

"Uh-oh," Cloud teased, smiling a little.

Zack sent him a hurt look. "It's not bad, I swear. Anyway, you should ask your dad if you can stay the night. I know you're going to be their tomorrow anyway but we'll have fun, I promise. Please," Zack begged, putting his hands together at a stop sign and looked at Cloud, cocking his head to the left.

_Awe, his puppy pout is so cute. Damn it, stop looking at his face_. "Okay, I'll ask him," Cloud said.

Zack did a little victory swing with his arms and continued driving. Cloud watched him and couldn't stop the blush that was forming on his cheeks. Staying at Zack's house for the night was going to be _pretty_ interesting. Distraction overtook him as he almost tripped out of the car and started walking up to his house. He heard a car door shut behind him and saw Zack running up to his side.

Steve watched as Cloud came in with Zack beside him. He had laughed a little when Cloud almost tripped and was now watching the boy move in circles. Cloud went into his room and came back out without his bag. The blonde teenager was biting his bottom lip, chewing on a piece of loose skin until it finally broke off. His lip began to redden as blood squeazed out, but it disappeared when Cloud licked his lips.

"Hey Dad, is it okay if I stay with Zack for the night?" Cloud asked, swallowing. It hurt to swallow. Was he nervous about what his dad would say? Was he getting sick?

"Hm, is your aunt okay with this Zack?" Steve asked, pursing his lips as he looked at Zack.

Zack nodded, smiling. "Yeah, she doesn't care."

"Okay Cloud, I guess you can stay the night," Steve said, making Cloud want to run to his room and start packing things. "But I don't want anything happening between you two, okay?Cloud, that means no hanky panky," Steve teased, smiling at Cloud's horrified face.

Cloud blushed as Zack laughed. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he keeps his clothes on," Zack said, wrapping an arm around Cloud's shoulders and ruffling his hair.

Steve smiled, getting ready to walk towards the kitchen. "Oh and Cloud," Cloud didn't look up at his dad, "if anything does happen…"

"_Dad_," Cloud whined.

Steve laughed. "I'm just saying…"

Cloud hid his face in his hands. He walked to his room, unhiding his face as he heard Zack following him. _Zack hasn't been in my room yet, _Cloud thought as he opened the door and stepped into the room-his room. Zack started to examine everything on the walls and things on his dresser and desk. Cloud knew that he would so he did his best to ignore him as he started to put some extra clothes into his bag, taking folders and notebooks out and setting them on his bed.

Zack saw a picture frame on Cloud's desk and leaned in closer to see it better. It had a picture of Cloud's dad with a smaller version of Cloud, smiling together. Zack smiled, Cloud looked so happy. His eyes were so bright and…happy. He saw another picture beside it, one of a young girl. Zack studied it carefully, noticing that the woman resembled Cloud. Her eyes were the same color of blue as his were and her face features made it seem like a girly Cloud.

"Hey Cloud, is this your mom?" Zack asked, not taking his eyes off of the picture.

Cloud looked up and glanced at the picture Zack was pointing at. He nodded. "Yeah, that's my mom."

Zack smiled. "I can tell; she looks just like you."

Cloud walked over to Zack, looking at the picture. "You really think so?"

Zack nodded, looking at him. "Yeah, I mean, you look like your dad too but…I've, I've never seen what your mom looks like until now."

Cloud looked up at Zack. "What about your mom?"

"You mean, do I look like her or my dad?" Cloud nodded and Zack sighed. "I don't really know. I haven't seen either of them for quite a long time." Zack went into a blank stare, leaving Cloud to look at him with a confused expression.

"Zack," Cloud said.

Zack snapped out of his trance and looked down at Cloud and smiled. "It's nothing, I'll tell you about them later Chocobo."

Cloud blushed as he grabbed Zack's jacket and slung his bag over his shoulder. They walked out of his room and past the living room to see Steve sitting in a chair, reading a book.

"Bye Dad," Cloud said.

Steve looked up from his book and smiled at him. "Bye Cloud, I hope you have fun." Cloud nodded. "Okay, and Zack, your responsible of him." Zack smiled, looking over at Cloud as he blushed. "I mean it, Zack."

"I know, I know. I'll take care of him, I promise."

Cloud felt another blush coming on again as he waved at his dad and followed Zack to the car. He slid into the passenger seat and held his bag close to his chest as Zack got in the driver's seat. He quickly stole a glance at Zack and smiled. He felt his chest tighten at his heart area and closed his eyes. Zack was so…cute. And when he opened his eyes, he saw that they were at Zack's house. He sucked in a breath before getting out of the car and walked next to Zack.

"Oh, hello Cloud. I see that Zack convinced you to stay the night." Cloud nodded at Tiffany as Zack led him to his room.

He had been in Zack's room before, but now he was feeling nervous. His eyes looked over at Zack's bed and wondered how this was going to work out. He gently dropped his stuff to the floor and walked over to Zack, who was at his computer. He looked around Zack's room, grabbing his chair at the small desk in the corner and setting it beside Zack. Cloud sat in the chair, watching as Zack turned in his spinny chair, thinking.

"So Cloud, what do you want to do first?" Zack asked music in the background.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know, you said that we were going to do something fun. I don't think that word even exists in my head anymore, though."

Zack sighed. "Cloud, we really need to get you out more often." Zack shook his head and crossed his arms, sitting back in his chair. "Anyway, I'll try the best so that you will have fun. Okay, so let's start by something old like prank calling."

Cloud shook his head. "What's the point of prank calling someone?"

Zack dropped his mouth at Cloud. "You have _never_ prank called someone, ever; not even with Tifa or Aerith, anyone?" Cloud shook his head. "Boy oh boy, we have some work to do." Zack smiled.

"Zack, you're going to damage my brain."

"No I won't," Zack said. "I promise that you'll still have more than half of your brain and _educational knowledge_ by Monday."

Cloud rolled his eyes, laughing a little. "I still don't know…"

"Aw c'mon, I promised you. You can trust me, right Cloud?"

_Yeah, I can trust you. Zack, don't do the puppy pout._ "Yes, but it can't be anything that's going to follow me around forever."

Zack smiled and grabbed his cell phone. "You won't regret this Cloud."

Cloud let Zack do all the talking because he told Zack that he couldn't do it. Zack had asked people questions like 'Is Cloud there?' and that person would say no, making Zack ask if they knew where _Cloud_ was. Cloud couldn't resist smiling when someone would say 'you've got the wrong number' and Zack would reply by asking if they knew what _Cloud's_ number was. This whole process made Zack turn to Cloud and ask him what his number was. Cloud told him as Zack punched the numbers into his phone and put a smiley face next to Cloud's name. Cloud was surprised that Zack didn't put "Chocobo" instead.

Now it was two in the morning and Cloud still couldn't sleep. He wasn't sure what it was. Cloud had ended up sleeping on the floor but then Zack didn't want to leave Cloud on the floor all by himself so he arranged everything so that he could sleep there too. After all of this, he was wide awake. Every five minutes he'd close his eyes and open them again. He sat up, causing the comforter to slide down his body. Why couldn't he sleep?

He looked back at Zack's sleeping face. Cloud sighed; he knew that his feelings were growing for Zack. He could feel them. It was more than just a few rapid beats from his heart, his heart would race and it felt like it was jumping all over the place when Zack smiled. Perhaps he couldn't sleep because of the image he'd seen while getting ready for bed. Zack had pulled his shirt off and took more than five minutes before he pulled on a shirt to sleep in. Cloud groaned at remembering the sight in his head. Zack wasn't shy for anything, unlike Cloud. He had pulled his shirt off without hesitation and made Cloud blush a few times by the way his torso moved. Zack had such beautiful muscles that pulled his body together. Cloud had almost been embarrassed to pull his own shirt over his head, knowing that he couldn't even come close to what Zack was.

His cheeks grew hot at the memory and he laid back down, curling himself into a ball and turning from Zack. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else besides the teenage boy that was inches away from him. Although trying not to think about someone or something usually led you to think about it. He tightened his eyes shut as his imagination got a hold of him and he started dreaming about Zack.

In his dream, Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud and they snuggled up together. Zack teased him with him by calling him Chocobo and Cloud did nothing but blush. They'd kiss each other a few times before Zack finally kissed him on the cheek and said 'I love you' and they fell asleep together. But the fact that this was all a dream ruined Cloud's thoughts of Zack ever doing that to him and a tear managed to slip out of the corner of his eye. Was puppy love supposed to hurt this much?

* * *

Things were better when he woke up. He considered himself lucky that he hadn't cried too hard, otherwise his eyes would be swollen and red. Zack was still asleep when he woke up so he decided to just lay there and maybe get a few more minutes of sleep in until Zack was awake. When Zack did wake up, Cloud had fallen back into a deep sleep. Zack woke the blonde up by whispering his name into his ear, making him jump up. Cloud could only blushed when Zack started to laugh.

By noon his dad arrived and asked if he could help with anything but Tiffany shooed him away into the living room. Cloud thought that it was rather strange that he and Zack ended up in the kitchen with Tiffany, and he knew very little about cooking, and his dad and Rick were in the living room possibly watching TV (alone).

"I hope you don't mind Cloud, but I'm trying to get those two together."

Cloud shook his head. "No, I don't mind."

Tiffany smiled. "Great, would you start on making the deviled eggs, Zack?"

Zack did what he was told and Cloud watched him curiously. Zack, of all people, knew how to cook. It surprised him when he had finished getting dressed in the morning to find a big plate of pancakes for him on the table. He was about to thank Tiffany but she shook her head and said that Zack had made them. At first, he was a bit edgy on eating the pancakes, not knowing how they would taste. His first bite was awkward until the taste melted on his tongue-Cloud thought that Zack's pancakes were the best he'd ever tasted.

"Thank you Zack, you'll make a wonderful housewife someday." Tiffany laughed when Zack pretended to hit her in the arm. After a few more minutes if cooking, and teasing Zack, Tiffany told Cloud to tell the "lovesick puppies" that everything was ready.

At the table, everyone had something to talk about-everyone, except Cloud. He watched as Rick and Steve were in their own little private conversation and Tiffany continued to tease Zack about being a housewife or that he did a good job with the cooking. It _was_ true that everything tasted really good. He was almost sad at the thought of Zack being a good "housewife" for someone someday. His sad thoughts caused his dad to look at him but those thoughts were soon forgotten when Rick commented on Zack being in a pink apron, making him laugh.

"Cloud, don't tell me that you're _enjoying_ this," Zack whined. "I thought you were supposed to stick up for me. Cloud, stop laughing, that's not nice."

Cloud couldn't help but smile though. As long as there was an image of Zack in a pink apron stuck in his head, he didn't feel sad.

After they had finished eating Zack and Cloud got stuck with the dishes (again). Cloud stared at Zack standing next to him, drying a plate. His stomach twisted and he looked away from Zack, knowing that tears would fall from his cheeks if he kept looking at Zack any longer. It didn't matter though; the tears were still going to fall. He excused himself to go to the bathroom and instantly began crying once the door was closed. His chest hurt as his heart began to do swirling motions inside him. But luckily, he didn't cry for long and his face didn't beam bright red when he got done doing so.

It soon came to where it was around nine and Steve said that he and Cloud probably should go. In a way, Cloud was happy to leave because that meant Zack had to stop tickling him. Then again, he felt like his insides were about to burst if he was away from Zack for another second. He did his best to push the feeling aside for now and heard Rick mutter something about next Saturday to his dad.

In the car, Cloud cuddled up to himself and smelled Zack on him. He smiled as he remembered seeing Zack's cologne this morning. He had picked it up and read the label, memorizing it, and getting teased by Zack because of it. Cloud had blushed when Zack asked if he like the way it smelled and he just nodded. Just being in Zack's room had surrounded him with Zack's scent but he knew that the aroma wouldn't last long. But until it ended, he closed his eyes and sighed, thinking of Zack being right there next to him. Everything about Zack made him smile or blush.

The sound of his dad saying his name made him jump, making him look at the older man. He hadn't expected his dad to really say anything until they were home. He guessed that that was off when he looked out the window and saw that they were half way home already.

"When do you think you'll tell Zack about how you feel?" his dad asked.

Cloud sighed. "Dad, we've already had this conversation." Huh, he sounded like the grown-up now.

"I know, I'm asking you because I told Rick today while you were in the kitchen."

"What?" Cloud looked over at his dad but the man's face was focused on the road.

"Yeah, we arranged a date for next Saturday. This doesn't bother you, does it?"

Why did people keep asking him that? Cloud shook his head. "No, but I've got a problem," Cloud said, sounding like a little kid. He heard his dad mumble 'What's that?' "What comes after puppy love?"

Steve pursed his lips together. "Hm, that depends. I can't really say for sure, though. Why?"

"You're no help and I think my feelings are growing for Zack." _No, I _know_ that they're growing._

Steve chuckled. "Maybe you should ask Zack about that; he's been through all of that, hasn't he?"

"Yeah, but you did too."

"Cloud, that was a long time ago…a very long time ago. If you don't want to ask Zack then maybe you should ask someone else like Aerith or Tifa. I think that they might be able to help you."

Cloud shook his head and continued to stare out the window. "And I think that you're crazy."

* * *

And...CUT! haha, look at me, trying to be a director. Well, it's probably the theater classes I'm taking. Oh well...  
Anyway, that scene where Zack and Cloud are prank calling people is similar to when I was staying at my cousins house and we, well SHE, started to call random numbers. I, just like Cloud, sat there and started laughing, covering those laughs with my hand. She was ask, "Is _ there?" And they would say "You have the wrong number" and she would say "This isn't _ number?" They'd say no. Then she'd ask if they knew my number and after a few seconds they'd hang up.  
Prank calling your crush though is random though...  
Anyway, reviews are nice. Maybe you want to review Cloud's reactions to puppy love. Maybe you want to review something about Zack. Maybe you want to review about Steve and Rick being in a relationship...yum. Maybe you want to review about my stupid Author's Note. Who knows? YOU DO!  
~ZLP


	10. Chapter 10 UPDATED!

**Chapter Ten**

On Monday, the first question that Zack asked was: "What do you want for Christmas?"

Cloud hadn't really thought about that yet. He didn't think that Zack would bother to get him anything for Christmas. Then fagain, he didn't really know Zack too well except that he had a lot of cute moments. They were sitting in the classroom, textbooks open and Zack with a study sheet in front of him. To answer his question, he shrugged and said, "I don't know. Isn't it kind of early to think about Christmas?"

Zack's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. He looked so much like a little kid when he did this that it made Cloud smile. "Are you serious? No, it's not too early. Cloud, don't you celebrate Christmas?"

"Yeah, but…"

Zack held up a finger. "Nuh-uh, you have to tell me something that you want or I'm going end up buying you crappy reindeer socks."

Cloud smiled. "I really don't know, Zack. You don't have to get me anything."

"Yes I do, I'll feel like a selfish bastard if I don't."

"Zack…"

"I'm getting you something Cloud, so don't even think of convincing me not to or try to change my mind."

He liked the idea of Zack caring enough to get him something. The thought made his heart flutter. His chest tightened as Zack smiled that wondrous smile. His breath got caught in his throat and he almost forgot to breathe. But there was one question haunting him: What would he get Zack for Christmas?

"Okay, but what am I supposed to get you?" Cloud asked.

Zack shrugged. "I don't care what it is, just as long as it doesn't end up killing me or cause me to have nightmares. Cloud, this sounds cheesy, but you've already given me enough by being a close friend."

"Why, haven't you ever celebrated Christmas?"

In his seat next to Cloud, Zack became tense. He looked away from Cloud and focused on something in the room. _Should I tell him?_ Zack wondered. "Yeah, but it was with my mom or Tiffany."

"What about your dad?"

Zack shook his head. "I…I'm not really close to my dad. I don't know. We just don't get along together very good."

Cloud looked down. "Oh, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"Cloud, it's okay. I'm…actually supposed to open up about it more to my friends." Zack said, remembering what the counselor had told him.

_What do you mean _open up_?_ "I don't understand."

Zack sighed, wondering if he should go on. "Every Tuesday I go to a counselor because Tiffany thought it would _help_ me. You know how I said that I don't really get along with my dad?" Cloud nodded. "Yeah, that's why," he said.

Cloud looked up at Zack. "Zack, you don't have to talk to me about this if you don't want. I understand that it must be hard; but it doesn't matter what anyone else says, it's okay if I don't know about it for quite a while."

Zack sighed and shook his head. "No Cloud, I have to get this off my chest. You don't know _how hard_ it is for me to pretend that everything in my life is fine. If I tell you everything, though, it'll take all week or more. I'll just get to the parts that are bugging me."

_He really wants to tell me this? He really wants to tell me this… Zack goes to a counselor? He…goes to a counselor… Zack…has something to get off of his chest? No, Zack's too…well, he's juvenile, sort of, but he's too perfect. Zack…_

"Cloud," _Uh-oh,_ "if you're starting to think that I was hit or abused, don't because I wasn't. My mother was the one being abused all my childhood and I felt bad that I couldn't do anything about it. I…wanted to help her somehow, you know, be her hero. The thought got stuck in my head and I…just wanted to become a hero. But after a while I knew I was just fooling myself and my dad kept hitting her."

_Zack…_

"He…went to prison after a while for domestic abuse and I even worked up a few bruises on myself just to make it looked like child abuse. As for my mom, she was sent to a mental institution…"

_Oh Zack…_

Zack looked away and Cloud put a hand on his shoulder. "Zack, I'm sorry," he said.

Zack shook his head and looked at Cloud, smiling a little. Cloud then knew that Zack had trained himself to smile when there was pain buried deep beneath his skin. He could see the fakeness in the smile and it made him sad.

"It's okay Cloud; I've dealt with it this long. I should be fine. Don't worry about me, okay? I'm a tough boy," Zack said, smiling a real smile. Cloud's lips still didn't twitch though. "Really Cloud, don't worry about me." To prove it to Cloud, he rubbed his blonde head. Cloud managed a small smile so that they could move on, but he couldn't help but worry about Zack. He couldn't just let it all go.

_How can I not worry about you when you're all I think about?_

* * *

Throughout the rest of the week, Cloud couldn't look at Zack the same. He just wanted to grab the teen and wrap his arms around him and make sure everything was okay. As much as it hurt him to think about how Zack's life was, he couldn't help _but_ think of it. Cloud felt his insides curl. He loved Zack, he knew that now. Every time he closed his eyes he thought about the mysterious teen. His smile (not the fake ones), his laugh, his voice, and those _eyes_ were all printed into his head and he couldn't forget no matter how hard he tried. Zack was just so…perfect.

_Zack…_

Cloud had been drawing little swirls in his notebook. He had scribbled Zack's name everywhere in different types of fonts. _Occasionally_, he would draw a heart or two (or seven), but he thought that might ruin it. He couldn't help it. He was in love with Zack, Zack Fair. A couple times, just for fun, Cloud would whisper Zack's name just to see how it felt on his tongue. And every time he did, his heart would jump in the air and fly away. Not _literally_, but he wished it would. If he was sure of one thing, it was that he was hopelessly in love.

Concentrating wasn't even an option anymore. Taking that test on Thursday had really sucked, bad. He'd go to write down an answer and blue eyes and dark hair would come to his thoughts. He would smile like goof and Aerith would catch the look on his face, looking at him with concern. He told himself not to think about Zack and focus on what he had studied the night before, but that didn't help. His thoughts were lost in Zack's gorgeous blue eyes.

Unfortunately, the daydreaming about Zack had caused him to get a B+ for the first time in years. Aerith had asked if he was okay and he'd told her that he was, but he could tell that she didn't believe him. He knew that she wouldn't dare say anything to Tifa (unless it was serious) because that girl would just shove him to the ground and force him to tell her _everything_.

And then came Saturday…

"Cloud, will you be okay by yourself or…"

"I'll be fine, Dad."

Steve pursed his lips as he pulled a heavy jacket over his shoulders. "Hm, are you sure? I can drop you off so you can spend time with Zack if you…"

"Dad, I'm fine. I just need to…study, really bad."

Steve sighed, "Okay, if you're sure Cloud, but…"

"I'm sure," Cloud said.

"Okay," his dad said, leaving Cloud behind in the house.

The moment he was in his room though, he didn't walk over to his computer desk like he usually would. He threw himself on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, smiling like an idiot. Was this what love was supposed to feel like? If so, then he loved it (even the part where his heart would throw itself in the air). Zack was all he could think about. He loved everything about Zack. He had the most attractive eyes, charming smile, and an adorable puppy face.

_Zack…_

Cloud was sure that he'd become one of those lovesick teenagers that you always see in movies or TV shows. Thinking about Zack all the time made his heart bounce and thinking about never seeing Zack again made his heart quake. Why did he have to be so cute? Cloud sighed at the thought and closed his eyes.

_Zack smiled at him and gave him a wink, making his way over to him. They were standing in Cloud's room and Cloud was blushing and choking for air as Zack put his hands on Cloud's cheeks. He murmured something in Cloud's ear, making Cloud's face turn bright red._

"_I love it when you blush," Zack said._

_Cloud blushed more, closing his eyes and then opening them again to get lost in Zack's eyes. He slowly wrapped his arms around Zack's waist, pulling the older teen closer. Zack smiled at him and inched closer to Cloud to where their noses touched. Cloud blushed and swallowed hard as Zack's breath touched his chapped lips. He couldn't help but look at Zack's lips, seeing as how they were smooth._

_Zack…_

"_Cloud, I love you."_

"_I love you too, Zack," Cloud said, surprised that it didn't come out as a stutter._

_Zack smiled, showing his perfect white teeth. His lips were brought closer to Cloud's, sending the blonde into shivers. When their lips finally met, Cloud's head danced with stars in little tutus. Zack's hands slid down his waist, and stopped at Cloud's hips. A low sound escaped from Cloud's lips. His lips parted and Zack's tongue darted through, causing him to shiver and moan at the sudden touch. Cloud let his hands travel up Zack's back and brought him closer. His breathing became fast as Zack's hands slipped around his waist just above his buttocks._

"_Zack…"_

Cloud woke up muttering Zack's name. He shot up on his bed as he said it, too. It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening and where he was until he figured that it was all just a dream. He sighed and laid back down, putting his hands over his eyes and running them down his face. That dream…it was so realistic. He swore he could feel Zack's hands, Zack's tongue, and his lips. He swore he could feel _Zack_. Maybe he shouldn't have said Zack's name…

He looked up at his ceiling, watching the light dance off little shadows. The only thing that was real in his dream was his heavy breathing. His chest was rising heavily. He heard every breath he breathed. It wasn't long until after he caught his breathing that he sat up and felt…sticky? He glanced down and saw…um, what _area_ was sticky, blushing and standing up.

Cloud discarded his pants and made his way to his dresser, pulling out the third drawer and pulling out a pair of pajama pants. Note: he wasn't going to bother with his boxers _just_ yet as he made his way to the bathroom to take a shower.

The water was cold when he got in, but he wasn't concerned with that right at the moment. He stared down at the tile floor as the water ran down him. He closes his eyes as the water started to get warm. What had just happened to him? He didn't want to ask his dad; that would be too embarrassing. Asking Zack would be the end of his life. Maybe he could look it up…

Looking it up right away wasn't an option when he got out of the shower as his dad was just getting home. He walked out of the bathroom and into the living room to wait for his dad. _Should I ask him?_ No, he told himself, don't even consider it.

"Oh, hey Cloud, I thought you'd be asleep," Steve said as he walked in, taking his jacket off.

Cloud shrugged. "No, I took a shower," he said.

"Huh, so did you get any studying done?"

_Oh right,_ he thought. "Uh, just a little…" he lied. His stomach turned, he'd never lied to his dad before. And it seemed that Steve caught onto the lie.

"What'd you do while I was gone, have a party or something?"

Cloud shook his head. "Uh, no…I took a nap," he confessed, turning red at the thought of his dream.

Steve smiled. "Oh really… Was _Zack_ in this dream of yours?" His answer was received as Cloud looked down and his face brightened. "I see. And what kind of dream was this?"

"I don't know what you mean," Cloud said, shaking his head.

"Hm, I'm not sure how to explain it."

Cloud shook his head, walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge. He grabbed the apple juice and set it on the counter, opening the cabinet and grabbing a cup. He slowly poured the drink and put it back into the fridge. He slowly finished drinking the juice before putting the cup in the sink and going back into the living room to sit by his dad, who had picked up a book (of course).

"How did your date go?" Cloud asked. It wasn't that he was really that interested in his dad's date, he just wanted to be able to start a conversation so that there wasn't an awkward silence.

Steve looked up at Cloud and closed his book with his finger marking the page. "It was nice, actually."

Cloud swallowed. He hated that he was beginning to sound like Aerith and Tifa when they asked each other how their dates went. "Really…"

His dad chuckled lightly. "Yeah, it was really nice. Do you want details or do you want me to drop the dream thing?" Cloud shrugged. "Sure, but just remember that I do the laundry."

Cloud blushed. Did his dad _know_? "What do you mean?"

Steve smiled and shook his head. "Cloud, not most people wake up from naps and decide to take a shower unless something quite _interesting _was happening in their dream."

"_Dad_…" Cloud groaned, burying his face in his palms.

He heard his dad laugh. "It's normal Cloud," he said as Cloud thought _normal_?

Cloud looked up at his dad but the man was reading his book again. How was that normal? He shook his head and walked to his room, sitting at his desk and decided to get his mind off the subject by studying. No such luck…

* * *

Zack was thinking of what to get Cloud for Christmas. Yeah, it was the first week of December but things went fast if you didn't hurry and get your ass out to a store and buy something. He did know quite a lot about Cloud but damn, what was he supposed to get him. Earlier, before Rick left for his date, he had made a list of things that he could get Cloud. In less than ten minutes after writing the list he had scratched off at least five or six items. He looked through the list again and scratched out _a chocobo plushy_. Yes, Cloud looked a lot like a chocobo with his fluffy hair but he wasn't five. And wasn't that something you get for your girlfriend (or little sister)? The last time he checked, Cloud was _not_ a girl and was definitely not his _girl_friend.

But he had a girly figure… Still no, he couldn't get him a plushy. Zack thought hard and stared at the list. There was…twenty days left until Christmas and he wanted to actually get something before it was even close to Christmas.

Zack sighed. When was the last time he actually felt this way about someone? Was it two...three years ago? Maybe… He couldn't quite remember. He knew that it was a long time ago and that he had felt really close to that someone. That is, until he had moved away. Hm, he knew that it was right after being with Sephiroth and Genesis, but that didn't explain much. He let himself fall on his bed and put his hands behind his back, closing his eyes. Had it really been that long? Duh, of course it had. But those crystal blue eyes… He remembered them the most than anything. And he'd never slept, or even thought of sleeping, with the other. He was…about two years older than Zack? Yeah, that sounded about right.

Zack opened his eyes and got up from his bed to search for his freshmen year yearbook. He found it underneath a pile of papers that he didn't even realize that he had, but ignored the papers as he sat down with the book on his bed, flipping through the pages until he got to the juniors. He searched for the start of the last name of H's and smiled when he found the picture he was looking for.

_Angeal Hewley_…

Zack smiled again as he looked at Angeal. After being with _those_ two, he didn't think that he'd find anyone that he could trust with _love_. But Angeal…he was like a giant teddy bear to a four year old. Zack slowly flipped to his freshmen photo and shook his head. He had worn his hair in front of his face, all floppy like. Angeal had commented that with his floppy hair, tireless energy, and bouncy spirit made him seem like a small puppy. Yeah, Angeal had given him that name and now it was stuck as just about everybody would call him that.

There was a soft knock on his door before Tiffany came in with a laundry basket of clothes. She smiled at him and set the basket down before sitting beside Zack, looking at the yearbook. "Oh, looking at your freshmen photo, are you?"

Zack smiled nervously. "Uh, kind of…"

"I take it that you're looking for Cloud?"

Zack's eyes brightened. He hadn't even _considered _that. His mind had just jumped all over the place as he thought about Cloud's present, Angeal, and now Cloud's freshmen photo. He flipped the pages to where the S's started and found _Strife_. Zack's mouth dropped at Cloud's face. He wasn't smiling; well, he had a _little_ smile but still. Cloud looked so small and helpless.

"He looks so…"

Tiffany nodded. "Sad, yeah, I know. He wasn't really happy when one of his teachers told him that he was in a highly academic class. I don't really know why but… He's always seemed so sad until now."

"Well, he told me that he's never had someone you know, like a boyfriend or girlfriend." Zack shook his head. "Why?"

Tiffany shrugged. "I talked to Steve about that one day, he said that Cloud didn't even consider liking anyone and was more concerned on his schoolwork." She looked down at the book again and sighed. "I…also heard something about Angeal."

Zack's head shot up from where he was looking down at Cloud's photo. "What about him?"

"He's joining the military," she said softly. Zack looked down at the floor. "It was his mother who actually told me. I saw her today while I was grocery shopping. She said that Angeal wanted to see you before he left."

"Angeal…said that?" Zack asked. Angeal had never been someone to carry out his emotions but that didn't mean he didn't say "I love you" or anything. "Wait, when is he leaving?"

"Calm down Zack," Tiffany said jokingly. "Gillian said that he didn't _say_ it but she knew that he was going to and I don't know when he's leaving. But he should be coming to see you soon, that's as much as I can tell you."

Zack sighed. "Okay…"

_Angeal_…

After Tiffany left, Zack put the book away and searched his computer desk. It took him about five minutes of lifting, shuffling, sneezing, wiping dust with his fingers, and shoving until he found what he was looking for. It was the photo of him and Angeal together on one of their dates. Zell and Yuffie had been prepared to take pictures and Zell actually managed to get a good photo of Angeal with a half grin that looked like a smirk. Zack stared at it for a few moments before setting it on the small side table by his bed.

He shook his head as he lay on his bed, supporting his head with his hands. Had he really been that infatuated with Angeal? Just being able to see Angeal again made his stomach turn. Did he really love him that much? Was it just nerves? Zack didn't know. He wanted to tell Cloud all about Angeal but then he'd have to start saying who Angeal was and how they met and _everything_. Zack sighed. Would Cloud even care?

And then he was back to thinking of what to get Cloud for Christmas. He groaned and closed his eyes. Maybe he should ask Angeal… He always seemed to know things.

_Angeal_…

_Cloud_…

* * *

Yay, new chapter! This one's not as fluffly though... =( Except for Cloud's wet dream, hehe ;D  
And yes peoples, Angeal is going to have a short appearance in here, yay...  
I also took what Angeal said about Zack being a puppy. And the military is supposed to be like SOLDIER but the only thing that relates to FFVII is the characters.  
Also, something I forgot to add: Zack wanting to be a hero to his mother. Awww, it's so cute.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Cloud sighed as Tifa went on about the "jerk" that gave her "the worst date in her life". He shook his head, not really wanting to hear another word. Well, he wasn't really the one that had to listen to every single word. He didn't really know why, or how, they always ended up at _his_ locker but that was one of the last things on his mind. He was more focused a certain tall teenager with black hair and gorgeous blue eyes with a smile that made Cloud's whole day worth while. Cloud almost smiled at the thought of Zack as he put things in his locker and grabbed some stuff that he would probably need.

"Hey Cloud," a voice said. Cloud turned to see _those_ blue eyes and _that_ smile. His heart started to beat faster and he smiled. "What's going on?"

He shrugged, turning to look at Aerith and Tifa once before looking back at Zack. He didn't really feel comfortable with them there, being able to listen to their every word. Cloud wanted them to go somewhere else; but if he asked them to leave, Tifa would ask why and he didn't really feel like explaining the reason to her. He then realized that Zack had asked him a question that he'd only answered with a shrug, making Cloud say the first thing that came to his mind. "I'm not really sure."

"Huh, that can't be good if you don't know what's going on," Zack said, grinning a little.

Cloud blushed. "N-no, that…that's not what I…" Cloud groaned as he stuttered for words to say.

Zack laughed. "I'm just kidding, Cloud," he said. "Anyway, I want to tell you something but I don't know how you're going to react to it."

"You didn't try to drown a fish, did you?" Cloud said, smiling a little at Zack's face.

"What? No, I didn't try to drown a fish. It's more serious than that."

Cloud's lips turned up. "Okay, what is it?" he asked. In his thoughts, Zack said that he was in love with him. Cloud saw himself blushing and saying the exact same thing, even though Tifa and Aerith were standing behind him. He didn't care that they were there. He imagined Zack picking him up and kissing him. But his thoughts were interrupted as Zack opened his mouth to say something.

"Someone I used to know is coming to see me this week before he leaves."

Cloud's instant thoughts were: _ex-boyfriend_. He did his best to look happy for Zack but inside he was sad. It wasn't that he was disappointed because his earlier thoughts didn't come true, but he wondered what this would do to his and Zack's friendship. What would happen if Zack and his ex decided to get back together? How would that affect him? _Probably a lot,_ he thought. He didn't want to think about Zack with someone else, it hurt him too much inside. Wait, Zack said "before he leaves". What was that supposed to mean?

"Uh, Zack, what do you mean _before he leaves_?" Cloud asked, oblivious to Aerith and Tifa now listening to their conversation.

"He's joining the military and I guess he wants to see me before he goes away," Zack said, scratching the back of his head.

"Do we know him?" Tifa asked, causing Cloud's shoulders to rise in a fast motion. Her high-pitched voice had caused him to jump a little.

Zack shrugged. "Maybe, he was a junior here when I was a freshman so… Angeal Hewley," Zack said.

Tifa thought for a while before she spoke up. "The name sounds familiar…"

Aerith put her hand to her chin in thought. "Yeah, it really does. Was he popular or something?" she asked.

Zack shook his head. "I don't really know. You probably heard his name from someone talking about him because he was with me, but I don't know."

"What do you mean?" Aerith asked as the warning bell rang.

Zack smirked. "It's a long story and I don't think there's time for me to tell you," he said, walking towards his class. "See ya later, Cloud."

Cloud nodded once. "Yeah," he said lowly as Zack walked away. Tifa had ran off somewhere, probably to class, and Aerith went by Cloud's side.

"Are you okay Cloud?" she asked, trying to read him like an open book.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, what makes you ask?"

She shrugged, looking down. "You seemed sad back there." Cloud let out a small sound. "It's okay; I don't think Zack and Angeal will get back together. I mean, long-distance relationships aren't really fun unless you're already with that person. Some people seem to cooperate with it really good but I don't know. If Zack and Angeal were married then that'd be different." She gave Cloud a smile to reassure him.

Cloud sighed. "I hope you're right," he muttered, thinking of Zack.

She looked up at him and smiled. "Have I ever been wrong about anything before?"

Cloud let out a nervous laugh and smiled. "No, I don't think so," he said. And it was probably true...

* * *

"Hey Zack, how do you know Angeal anyway?" Cloud asked, looking up from his book he was reading. A big test was coming up and he felt that he really needed to study, due to his past test result, so he brought some stuff to look over and take notes. Zack said that he'd be fine since he didn't really have a lot of homework to do and said that he'd let Cloud know if there was something he needed help with.

Zack looked up from where he had been drawing a little picture of Cloud as a chocobo on a piece of paper. "He's one of my ex's. For some reason, I never even considered having sex with him. Maybe it was because it was right after being with Sephiroth and Genesis and I didn't think that I'd be able to deal with something like that again but I don't know. Angeal's actually the one that nicknamed me _puppy_," he said, shaking his head. "It's stuck now, I guess."

Cloud looked away in thought for a moment. "Why did he nickname you puppy?" _Why did you nickname me "Chocobo"? It's not because of my hair, is it?_

"You've never seen my freshmen picture, have you?" Cloud shook his head. "Oh man," Zack said, looking down and shaking his head. He looked back up at Cloud, "Anyway, my hair used to fall in front of my face and Angeal said that it looked like puppy ears flopping around whenever I moved a certain way. And he said that I'd bounce all over the place just like a little anxious puppy would." Zack shook his head. "Those things haunt you forever…"

_So now everyone's going to call me Chocobo…?_

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked, hoping Zack would answer the question that rang in his head.

"Angeal didn't hesitate to call me puppy in front of anyone, which was just about everyone, and now they get the idea that they have the right to call me that." Zack sighed. "Oh well…" Zack looked down at his notebook paper and continued drawing.

Cloud looked down at his book and went back to writing things down. He was still curious about Angeal but he guessed that that would have to wait. Cloud hoped that Aerith was right and that there wasn't really anything to worry about. But it was like she said: had she ever been wrong about anything before? The chance of Aerith being wrong about something was probably a five percent out of one hundred. But that meant that there was still that little five that was hitting him in across the face.

"Hey Cloud," Zack said. Cloud looked up. "Did your dad tell you about his date?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, why, do you know something that I don't?"

Zack smirked. "_Maybe_…yes, I do. Anyway, there's not really a lot to say but…they kissed."

"They…kissed? Is that…?" Cloud couldn't really finish his question. He wanted to know if that was normal on a first date, but he didn't want to sound stupid in front of Zack.

"Sometimes," Zack said, understanding what Cloud was trying to ask. The poor kid hadn't been on a date, nor had a boyfriend of girlfriend, so he wasn't really aware if it was possible or _right_ to kiss on the first date. "It depends on how the date goes, I guess."

"Oh."

Zack nodded. "Don't worry Cloud, I'm sure you'll get there and you'll know what I'm talking about."

Cloud looked down. "Maybe…" he mumbled softly. He didn't want to know what Zack was talking about, though. He _wanted _Zack to show him what it was all about.

* * *

"Zack, is it true that Angeal's coming back?" Lulu asked at the lunch line. Students around them were having their own conversations with each other and some were just standing there with their hands in the pockets of their jackets.

"What the- How do you know these things?" Zack said, jumping back and almost stepped on a girl behind him. She looked at him but didn't say anything. Instead, she just gave a short smile. Zack mumbled an apology, but the girl just shook her head and said that it was okay. Zack assumed that the girl had a crush on him or something and sighed, looking back at Lulu.

She shrugged. "Your aunt was talking to me about it. And Zack, when Angeal comes, try not to hurt Cloud."

Zack's eyes widened and and his voice became serious. "What do you mean try not to hurt Cloud? How would I hurt him?"

Lulu sighed, picking up a tray as the line started to get shorter. "I've seen the way you react around Angeal and it's like you distance yourself from everyone but him. It's almost as if no one else matters or exists _but_ Angeal."

"Uh-huh and how would I hurt Cloud?" Zack thought he knew the answer, but he wanted to hear Lulu say it.

She threatened to hit Zack with her tray, causing him to shield his face with his arms. "You really have no clue, do you?"

"Have no clue about what?" he asked, taking one step back from her, making sure that he didn't run into the girl again.

"Never mind, Cloud's coming with Zell," she said, turning her back to him.

Zack looked behind him, and the crowd of teenagers, to see Zell with his arm around Cloud's shoulders. Cloud was trying to hide a smile at whatever Zell was saying but it wasn't working. Cloud's face was beaming bright red from blushing. Zack swallowed a lump in his throat and stepped out of the line, letting everyone behind him take one step forward. He went to the end of the line, where Zell and Cloud were.

"Hey Zack, you know it's really easy to make Cloud smile?" Zell said, his arm still around Cloud.

Zack nodded, looking at Cloud. "Yeah, I know." His heart squeezed a little as Zell ruffled Cloud's hair and shook him by the shoulder.

Cloud looked away, blushing.

"Aw, he's cute when he blushes," Zell said, making Cloud blush more.

Zack smiled when Cloud covered his face. "I am not," he mumbled into his hands.

Zell wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulder tighter and pulled him close, ruffling his hair again. "Yes you are and you know it." Cloud shook his head. "Oh c'mon," Zell said.

Zack chuckled, putting his hand on Cloud's shoulder. "C'mon Cloud, let's get you something," Zack said, grabbing a tray.

Cloud looked up at Zack, putting his hands down at his sides as Zell let go him and grabbed a tray for himself. He nodded, following Zack and picking out a few things that he thought he wanted. He didn't notice that Lulu was watching him and Zack as they sat down beside each other. He _did _notice that Zack was being somewhat nicer to him today than what he usually was. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was just weird. And it wasn't like Zack was mean to him, but Zack hadn't teased him about anything so far. And the truth was he was really starting to miss it, even though his cheeks would usually hurt from blushing.

"Hey Zack, Lulu told me that you're in _trouble_," Yuffie chimed in a singing way, causing Cloud's thoughts to escape from him.

Zack raised an eye and looked over at Lulu. She just shook her head, braids swinging and beads smacking together. Lulu looked at her little sister and sighed. "Yuffie, you dimwit, I said that I wanted to talk to him about something. That's all," she added.

Rikku giggled just as Zell sat down on the other side of Cloud. "What's up?" he asked, looking at the giggling girl.

"Zack's in trouble," Rikku said, looking at Zack.

"How am I in trouble if Lulu just wants to talk to me?" Zack asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, usually when Lulu wants to talk to someone about _anything_, it's because they've done something or are going to do something _bad_," Zell said, laughing.

Rikku and Yuffie giggled at Zack. "Yup, you guys are just lucky you don't have to live with her," Yuffie said.

"Watch it, princess."

Yuffie, Zell, and Rikku laughed again. Lulu rolled her eyes and Zack sighed, putting his elbows on the table and rubbing his hands down his eyes. Cloud smiled at Zack. It was funny to watch him get teased but still, he wanted to know what Lulu wanted to talk about. He wasn't about to ask though, seeing as how he didn't want to be the one to get on Lulu's bad side. Instead, he watched everyone laugh. About the time they stopped, Yuna and Paine sat by Rikku.

"So Lulu, what do you want to talk to Zack about anyway?" Rikku asked. Everyone at the table, except Zack, looked at the girl to see what she would say.

Lulu looked at Zack with serious eyes. She didn't make eye contact with anyone else. "He knows what I want to talk to him about," she said smoothly. Disappointed faces looked down and continued to eat their lunch.

Cloud looked at Zack but the other wasn't looking at anyone. He was sure that he would ask Zack when they went back to class, but he didn't. He wasn't about to become the type of friend that gets in your face and get every answer that they want, kind of like Tifa. He figured that if Zack wanted him to know about it, he would tell him. But it seemed that Zack didn't want him to know or maybe it was that he probably shouldn't know because Zack never mentioned a word about it after lunch. Cloud wasn't upset by it, but it was just the thought that Zack might be hiding something that bothered him. That wasn't the _Zack_ that he knew.

And the same thing was bothering Zack with not telling Cloud. He felt like he had to distance himself from the blonde and Angeal wasn't even around yet. After listening to Lulu's forty-five minute lecture, (she had actually bothered to drive to his house just to do so), he wasn't sure that he was excited to see Angeal or not. If he acted like no one mattered or existed when he was around, he didn't want to see Angeal. He couldn't bear to hurt Cloud like that. He _didn't want_ to hurt Cloud _at all_. He just couldn't do it. Cloud was too precious and innocent to be hurt by anybody. He didn't want to be the one that would break the blonde. Cloud was important to him and he didn't want anything in the world to ruin it, even if that meant Angeal coming to see him.

"I have feelings for him," Zack muttered as he stared at Cloud's freshmen photo, since it was the only photo he really had of the blonde. He meant it too. Everyday he would watch Cloud do something that he found utterly cute. Just seeing him smile made his heart leap. Lumps formed in his throat when Cloud would laugh, making it hard to breathe. Watching Zell have his arm wrapped around the blonde's shoulder had hurt him a bit, especially when Cloud started blushing. When anyone started to tease or make fun of him, he got the feeling to pound that person down. And when Cloud said something to tease Zack, he swore his body had just melted into a puddle. Cloud was the sunshine of his life, the rainbow that happened after the rain. He shook his head at his thoughts. He really was a fool in love, wasn't he?

* * *

I feel like this chapter doesn't have enough and that makes me sad. Sorry...to disappointed people out there. I hope you still love me? (puppy face?)  
Anyway, if anyone knows how to make this chapter longer, please tell me how.  
Oh yeah, some of you may have gotten a thing in your e-mail about a new chapter a few days ago. Anyway, that wasn't a new chapter. I was just trying to update a chapter. Sorry for that. But I wrote a username down to thank someone for letting me know that there was an error and now I can't find the paper I wrote it on. Oh well, you know who you are. *winks*  
I feel like I'm apologizing a lot, but sorry for anyone that wanted to see the big drama between Zack and Angeal, haha.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Zack woke up to the feeling of someone tapping him on the shoulder. His eyes opened lazily and looked up at a pair of blue eyes looking down at him. He jumped at the sudden contact and almost hit his head in the process. He sat up and stared back at the familiar face and rubbed his eyes to make sure that he was correct on what he was seeing. He smiled when he realized that it wasn't a dream and Angeal was actually sitting right there beside him on his bed. A small smile from Angeal reflected back at him.

"Rise and shine, puppy," Angeal said.

Zack sighed and shook his head. He looked down at the blankets covering his body and then back up at Angeal. "You know that's stuck now," Zack told him, thinking about how just about everyone called him "puppy" now. He had told them that they couldn't call him that; but when they asked for a reason, he couldn't think of one.

Angeal smirked. "Everyone must've caught on then," he said, patting Zack's hair.

Zack chuckled, getting out of bed and stretching. "What time is it," he muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"It's almost noon Zack. Come on, do you really want to spend your whole Saturday sleeping?" Angeal asked.

Zack shook his head, rubbing his eyes. "No, I guess not. I'm just curious though, why'd you want to see me before you left?" Zack looked at Angeal as he waited for an answer. It wasn't that he wasn't happy to see him, but that particular question needed to be answered.

Angeal sighed. "I'm sure you'd want to get ready before I explain that to you, right?" he asked, looking down at Zack's choice of pajamas

Zack looked down and laughed nervously, smoothing out his hair with his hand. "Yeah, that'd probably be good. Okay, give me about ten minutes."

Nodding, Angeal stood up and left Zack's room, shutting the door partially enough to leave a little crack. Zack looked at the door and shook his head. He sighed at the thought of Angeal, but it wasn't the kind of sigh that girls did around their boyfriends, and went to his closet to pick out a few clothes. He stared blankly at his reflection as he messed with his hair. After dressing, he looked at himself once more in the mirror before shaking his head. Man, did seeing Angeal for the first time in two years really cause him to primp in the mirror like a teenage girl? He chuckled at the thought and headed for the door.

Angeal was sitting on the couch beside Rick, waiting for him. He looked up when Zack got closer and waved awkwardly. "Ready?" he asked and Zack nodded.

Tiffany walked up to him and handed him a jacket. "Here," was all she said. Zack put the jacket on and followed Angeal out to his car and got into the passenger seat. He looked over at Angeal after buckling his seatbelt. Angeal just smiled at him and started the engine, pulling out of the driveway. It was about an hour before they parked at a place that Zack recognized and remembered quite well as the place where he and Angeal had talked outside of school for the very first time.

"Zack," Angeal said, looking at Zack, "do you have an idea why I wanted to see you before I left?"

Zack looked at Angeal and shrugged. "I don't know, because we were together?" Angeal sighed. "Okay, I really don't know then."

"I wanted to see you because I figured that you'd be holding onto something. I thought that you might have been waiting till I came back like this."

"Oh, well, kind of but…not until recently," Zack said. He immediately thought of Cloud when he said that and the thought of the blonde made his heart leap.

Angeal looked at Zack curiously. "What do you mean until recently?"

Zack sighed, resting his head against the back of the seat. "Well, about a month ago Tiffany thought it'd be good if she assigned me a tutor to make my grades go up. It really has done something, surprisingly. But the guy that she assigned me with…" Zack shook his head, thinking of Cloud's blue eyes and his blonde chocobo hair. "I'm starting to fall for him. He's just so amazing and…innocent. I mean, really, just by looking at him you can see the innocence inside of him. I like to see him happy and…"

"It sounds like you are in love with him, Zack," Angeal cut him off, teasing a little.

Zack nodded and felt himself smile a little, his face heatening at the thought. He didn't think of it as teasting because he actually was falling in love. "Yeah, I gave him a nickname, like you did me. One day, it just occurred to me that he looked like a chocobo, so that became his nickname. Well, he's got two actually, the other is Spike but he backfired that one on me by pointing at my hair."

"Does he really look that much like a bird, especially a chocobo, Zack?"

Zack shook his head. "No, it's just his hair is so blonde and fluffy and his eyes are a really deep shade of blue. It's not like he's this giant bird about to peck you because he's actually quite small."

Angeal chuckled. "It seems that my puppy has grown up," Angeal teased again and Zack groaned this time, looking away. "So what's his name?"

"Cloud, Cloud Strife," Zack said, feeling his heart start beating faster just by saying his name.

Angeal smiled. Just by the way Zack had described this boy named Cloud; he could tell that Zack was falling in love. Zack seemed to be very happy when he mentioned Cloud, this he could see very well. Zack's lips would curle up a bit and his eyes would brighten, a smile would cross his face, and he would have this sigh in his voice. Whoever Cloud was, he made Zack really happy. And that was really all that he wanted: to see Zack happy. Sure, he would be sad if Zack was with someone else. But he wasn't going to stay with Zack forever and he was leaving in a couple of days, anyway. Zack wasn't going to be able to hold still forever. He didn't want to have to make Zack wait for him like some jerks do by marrying some pretty girl and leave them to "make a difference in their lives" while they're pregnant. Well, Zack wouldn't ever get pregnant but he still didn't want to be that jerk. Okay, so not all of them were jerks but Angeal still didn't want to leave Zack to wait for him. And it wasn't like there wouldn't be others, because there would be.

"Zack, have you considered asking Cloud out on a date?"

"Yeah, a few times but he has his eyes on someone else. He's told me that he likes someone and even said that he knows a few things about the guy. The problem is he won't tell me who it is." Zack felt his heart sink at the thought of Cloud liking someone else. He couldn't control who Cloud liked, but he couldn't really ask Cloud out on a date either.

"So do you think you could hook him up with someone?" Zack nodded. "How do you know that it isn't you that he likes and that's the reason he's not telling you?"

Zack shrugged. "I don't know. I just figured I wasn't his type."

"Okay, then what kind of guy is he interested in?" Angeal asked, waiting for Zack to answer as the younger one thought for a moment.

Zack scratched the back of his head. "He never told me and this is, as far as I know, the first time he's ever liked someone." Zack felt his stomach squeeze as he thought of Cloud's innocence and that made him want to wrap his arms around the blonde, even though he wasn't even no where near close to him at the moment.

"You said that he was innocent, so I take it that he's shy, right?" Zack nodded, not sure where Angeal was going with this but that was just how Angeal was. If he wanted to tell you something, he'd explain it first and leave this dramatic eagerness that had you jumping up and down for the conclusion. At least, that's how Zack had always felt. "And by the way you said that you like to see him happy, he probably doesn't smile a lot."

"No, he doesn't. It really takes a lot just to make him smile. It's amazing just to hear him laugh." Angeal heard the amazement and passion in Zack's voice, smiling at this.

"Well then take the complete opposite of what he's like and you get someone that's fun, energetic, and always with a smile on his face. Hm, that sounds a bit like you Zack."

Zack was surprised to hear that. With Angeal's little "love theory", no one wanted to be with someone that's just like them. For example: if you were a quiet person (like Cloud) you wouldn't want to be with someone that's stern (like Lulu). And if you were fun and energetic (like Rikku) you probably wouldn't want to be with someone that has the same energy or you'd be tired everyday and you're relationship would come to an end too easily. It was basically like trying to mix optimism with an optimistic person, nothing but more optimism happens.

"I never really thought of that," Zack admitted.

"Zack, I want you to be with someone that's gonna make you happy. I don't want you to have to wait for me. And I know you a little too well to know that you can't sit still."

"Hey, I thought you said I was growing up," Zack pouted.

Angeal smiled, patting Zack's shoulder. "You are, but that doesn't mean you're going to sit still forever."

Zack sighed and shook his head. "You know, I thought you wanted to see and talk to me about getting back together," he said, thinking of his thoughts from the last few days.

"Were you hoping that I would or were you thinking that I would?"

Zack thought for a moment. Of course he'd been thinking about it but he never really remembered hoping that he would. To be honest with himself, he was _hoping_ that Angeal didn't suggest anything like that for two reasons. One reason was because Lulu said that she would strangle him if Angeal's visit turned him into a complete asshole and Cloud got hurt because of him _being_ an asshole. The other reason was because of Cloud. He didn't want to see him hurt and he swore that he'd break any bastard's neck that harmed him. Zack also didn't want to be the one to hurt him, not just because of Lulu's threat, but because he didn't think that he could live knowing that he'd broken Cloud's heart.

"I was kind of thinking that you would but I was hoping that you wouldn't, really," Zack admitted.

Angeal nodded. "I see."

"But it's not like I can just ask Cloud out on a date, whether or not he does like me."

"Then don't ask him on a date, just something where you two are together. And don't ask him to hangout with friends or anything with anybody, just you two. Something that you two can do alone without anyone around," Angeal added.

Zack groaned, closing his eyes. "That sure does sound like asking him out on a date."

Angeal shook his head. "Zack, just trust me," he said.

* * *

That Monday, the day Angeal left, Zack did his best to gather up enough courage to ask Cloud _out_. He kept reminding himself the whole morning that it wasn't a date, just the two of them going to hangout together. But he couldn't find any way to ask Cloud without it seeming like he was asking him to go on a date with him. And there was no way he'd be able to think that they were hanging out together if Cloud did say yes. With him starting to like Cloud and everything, he just couldn't see it as a hangout and rather saw it as a date. The thing that bothered him though was that he had asked so many people if they wanted to go somewhere before, people that he wouldn't even consider asking to go on a date (like Lulu, Yuffie, or even Squall), and it had never seemed like he was asking them if they wanted to go on a date. Those were his friends though, friends that he was used to hanging out with. Cloud was different. He was in love with Cloud.

But he was quite surprised when Cloud said yes and seemed very happy when Zack had asked, in a very awkward way that might be added. He didn't know why he was surprised but he just thought that Cloud would say no and come up with some excuse that he had to study for an important test. And when Zack had asked him what day was good for him he simply replied: Friday.

Zack felt his heart leap whenever Cloud would smile or blush. That smile and the blush on his cheeks made it seem like Zack was flying. He was distracted by Cloud reading a book for his English class that the bell ringing for lunch made him jump. Cloud had asked if he was okay and he replied awkwardly by saying yeah and added that he must've been spacing out. But at lunch he swore he had reached Heaven when he heard Cloud laugh at something that Zell said. He had tried to cover it up by tightening his lips but Rikku caught on and said something, making Zell pinch Cloud's side. After that, Cloud let out a laugh that seemed to brighten everyone's face (even Squall and Lulu's).

"Hey, I think that's the first time we've ever heard you laugh," Yuffie said.

"Aw, Cloud you're blushing," Rikku teased.

The moment Zack looked at Cloud's face he saw that the blonde really was blushing. Even though he was trying to hide it, it was still quite noticeable. And whenever someone said something, the blonde would blush even more, turning his face a bright crimson. That blush made him look really cute and Zack had to do his best to keep from pulling Cloud close to him and wrapping his arms around him.

While Yuffie and Rikku were teasing Cloud, Yuna commented that Cloud looked cute when he blushed. That only made him blush more though and he was happy when the bell rang for everyone to go back to class. Cloud had jumped out of his chair and quickly disposed of what was left of his food and walked fast to the classroom. Zack watched and followed Cloud down the hallways until he finally came to their classroom. He didn't expect to see Cloud with his head down and his arms folded over his face. His heart dropped at the sight and he quickly made his way over to Cloud, kneeling down beside him.

"Hey, Cloud, are you okay?" Zack asked, petting Cloud's golden locks.

Cloud looked up at Zack and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," he said, smiling a little. Zack didn't believe him though.

"C'mon Cloud, tell me what's really bugging you. I'll tell you what's on my mind if you tell me what's on yours." Zack hoped that that last sentence really did stick to Cloud's mind.

Zack heard a sigh and looked at Cloud. "It's really stupid but…" Cloud shook his head.

"Cloud, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?"

Cloud took a moment to look at Zack and nodded. "Yeah," he almost whispered. "It's just… I felt like a little kid back there being picked on," he said, blushing.

Zack smiled, realizing why Cloud had run off and why he was hiding his face. "Aw, so you're not upset about anything?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, just a little embarrassed," he admitted. "What's on your mind though?"

It took Zack a moment to realize what Cloud was talking about before he remembered what he had said and just shook his head. "I don't remember," he lied. Zack hoped that Cloud wouldn't catch onto it and somehow _know_ that he was lying, but another part of him wanted Cloud to ask what it was just so that Zack would have an excuse to tell Cloud how he felt.

Cloud just nodded as Zack sat beside him and they started working on Zack's math homework. Zack watched Cloud and sighed in his mind. He couldn't wait until Friday for Christmas break and he really couldn't wait until that Friday night when he and Cloud were going to go _out_. His mind went to the thought of that Saturday when Angeal had come over. Before Angeal had taken him home, Zack had asked him if they could go somewhere. At first Angeal questioned it but when Zack told him that he wanted to look at stuff to buy someone something, he agreed to it. Strangely enough by just looking around, Zack knew and found what he was looking for. He knew the perfect present to give Cloud and he couldn't wait until Christmas day to give it to him.

* * *

Okay, I don't have anything against people joining the army, military, marines or whatever. I don't really know the difference. And I don't have anything against guys leaving their wives while their pregnant, except the fact that if I was the girl I'd be pissed. That's just me trying to make a character... So I don't want any bad reviews about that. Okay? Okay.  
Second, I feel like this chapter doesn't have much excitement. Actually, this one and the last two have been kind of **uhhhhhhh** but that's just me. Am I boring you people with something? Is it the fact that Zack and Cloud aren't together yet? Well, I can't help it. I tried so many times to put that in but they just never worked. And there's still a little more chapters until they...oops, I almost spoiled something.  
Anyway, please review. They really do make me happy when I check my inbox.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

Zack felt like he had totally screwed up on the Saturday, the day he and Cloud were to "hang-out" together. Cloud couldn't help but feel embarrassed of what had happened that day. It wasn't exactly humiliating but it wasn't pleasant or something you could just laugh off either. Seifer had crashed their "hang-out" and Zack had ended up picking a fight with the bully. Zack didn't lose the fight, but he didn't really win either because it was only moments after they both threw a few punches at each other that a police officer started to show up. Seifer had quickly abandoned the scene and Zack took Cloud's hand and led him through certain parts of the mall until they ended up at the very fountain they had sat together at when they were there the last time.

Cloud was waiting for Zack for catch his breath, and was hoping that Zack's face wouldn't bruise too badly. He sat with his back against the bench, hands folded together in his lap. Every few seconds a small droplet of water would hit the back of his neck but he didn't care, his attention was more on Zack. Guilt crashed down in his chest as Seifer said a smarty remark when he and Zack had gotten a bit "too close". The remark had just made him blush very badly as Seifer said something about them being together and it just seemed to make Zack _mad_.

Pain was now starting to clench in his chest as he was starting to tell himself that Zack didn't feel the same way. A bit of the pain was from the hurtful word that Seifer had said (his exact words being something along the lines of two homos and mentioning the word fags) but most of it was from his thoughts. He hoped that Zack was mad about the word(s) that Seifer had said and not the idea of him being with Cloud. The thought, however, made Cloud's heart jump and ache. His hands tightened together and he looked down at the hard floor as his lip began to quiver.

Zack touched his own lip with two fingers and pulled it back, checking for blood. The last thing he needed was Tiffany lecturing him about getting into fights. He shook his head as no blood appeared on his fingertips and looked over at Cloud sitting next to him. His mood softened as he saw Cloud shaking and gripping his hands, causing them to turn white. He had seen the hurt look on his face when Seifer insulted them and it caused his blood to boil. Things like this bothered him when someone he cared for or loved was hurt in any way. And by Cloud's face, he knew that he was scared. Zack shook his head and raised a hand to touch Cloud's cheek. His heart jumped when Cloud flinched at his touch.

"Hey, you okay?"

Cloud nodded, his cheek brushing Zack's fingertips and he seemed to lean against them. He'd never really experienced a fight before, not like this at least. He would admit that he was startled and frightened by the whole thing but it didn't matter now, Zack was making things better for him. Strong arms wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him close, rocking him back and forth. When the rocking stopped, Cloud found his head against Zack's chest and Zack's cheek against his hair. He didn't even seem to care that they were in a public place with everyone watching them. They did manage to break apart though when a few girls (and one guy) started cooing and _aw_ing at them.

The ride was silent as Zack drove Cloud home and Cloud just stared out of the window, thinking about Zack. Zack sent a few glances at Cloud every few minutes to catch some sort of reaction of the other's face but there was no such luck. Cloud didn't seem to be in a hurry to get out of the car, and when Zack pulled up to his house. He sat in his seat, holding his hands together. A forced smile was sent towards Zack and Zack sent one back, hoping to calm the teen's nerves. Cloud started to get out of the car when Zack reached over and caught his wrist. He turned to look at Zack, staring into his blue eyes.

"Cloud, I'm sorry about what happened today," Zack said, letting go of Cloud's wrist.

Cloud just smiled at him and nodded. "It's okay Zack, really, it is."

Zack just sighed and nodded as Cloud got out of the car and walked up to his house, stumbling over the inches of snow. He waited until Cloud was in the house and the door shut behind him before he finally drove off. Cloud was doing the same thing by watching Zack's car from the window disappear. He sighed when he could no longer see the shiny red car. He turned and walked to his bedroom, hoping his dad wouldn't ask him about their "hang-out" as he had been teasing Cloud the past few days how it was very much like a "date".

In a way, he hoped that it could be a date as it would be his first. He wanted Zack to be his first with _everything_. Thoughts of how Zack's hands felt against his skin crossed his mind and he smiled. It would be nice to just be able to reach for one of those hands and hold it firmly with his. And he just wanted to reach up on his tiptoes and kiss those soft lips. He sighed at the thought. He wanted Zack to be his first date, his first boyfriend, his first kiss and just his first.

The cushion of his pillow emptied his thoughts in a deep slumber as his head hit the soft cushion, a smile painting itself across his face.

* * *

Christmas morning rang in his ears as he got out of bed and drug his feet across his carpet. He lazily dressed himself and walked out into the living room where a small three-foot-tall white tree, that had been repeatedly used, stood with presents underneath them. There was a little more than he expected as he recognized some of the paper and wrapping style of the presents that he had wrapped for his dad. His attention turned towards the kitchen as his dad entered the room with a mug of hot chocolate in his hand. He smiled over at Cloud and took his seat on the couch, laying his mug on a coaster.

"Merry Christmas Cloud," he said as Cloud sat beside him. Cloud smiled and nodded as his dad handed him a present. The teen slowly unwrapped and ripped through the paper, pulling out a CD of a band he recognized. He stared at the cover as his hands traced over the logo. "I figured you might want that since I've heard you listening to their songs a lot lately."

Cloud nodded as he _had_ been searching for songs by them and listened to a few. He did admit that they were one of his favorite bands and his heart pounded hard against his chest as he thought of Zack letting him borrow a few of his CD's, this band being one of them. A reach for one of his dad's presents was all it took to distract him from thinking about Zack. He handed Steve the rectangular-shaped present and watched as he tore through the paper, revealing a book.

Cloud blushed a bit as his dad smiled at him. "I was kind of hoping that you didn't have that one because I know how much you like his books," Cloud said, twiddling his fingers.

Steve hugged his son and held the boy close. "Yeah, I don't have this one. Thank you Cloud," he said.

Another blush appeared on Cloud's face and more presents were unwrapped. The mess of littered wrapping paper flooded the floor, and even the couch, around them. Steve just chuckled at the thought of it and started collecting bits of paper, stuffing them into the trash. There was a knock at the door that stopped Cloud from helping his father and he answered the door, smiling when he saw Zack's face.

"Hey Cloud, is it okay if I come in for a few minutes?"

Cloud nodded and stepped aside for Zack to enter. His dad was finishing cleaning up the mess and Zack grinned at Cloud. Steve was rather pleased to see Zack and greeted him with a decent hello before he walked off to not only dispose of the last remains of wrapping paper, but to also give the two boys some _privacy._

"Have you already had Christmas?" Cloud asked, assuming Zack had.

Zack nodded. "Yeah and I just wanted to stop by and give you your present," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small present from his coat pocket, handing it to Cloud.

Cloud stared at the object as he took it in his hands and finally looked up at Zack. "Zack, I told you that you didn't have to get me anything. Actually, I think I told you _not_ to get me anything."

Zack shrugged. "Do you think I listened?"

A shake of the blonde's head was all he received until Cloud said, "I didn't get _you_ anything though."

"Eh, don't worry about me. I told you Cloud, you being a friend was all I that I needed," he said. Cloud started to protest but Zack held up his hands. "Ah, don't even think about it, Chocobo."

Cloud groaned at the nickname and worked his fingers to unwrap the present. His mouth dropped at the sight of an iPod still in its case. Zack took it from him and took the music device out, handing it to Cloud.

"Zack…"

"You said that you're favorite color was blue but they didn't have anymore blue ones left, sorry," he said, scratching the back of his head. "I hope that the black one is okay, though."

Cloud nodded, not able to form any words. He stared at it in his hand and traced the edges, looking up at Zack. "Zack…I don't know how to put songs…"

"That's okay Cloud, I did that for you. I didn't know what songs you liked form the CD's I let you borrow so I just put the whole CD album on there and a few more albums that I thought you might like. Is that okay?" Zack asked, his eyes searching Cloud's.

A short nod and a small nervous laugh was what he got from Cloud as the blonde wrapped his arms around Zack's waist. Zack was startled by the touch at first but reacted by embracing Cloud. He closed his eyes and let out a low breathing sigh. Holding Cloud like this felt so right. The same feeling occurred in Cloud's thoughts and he only smiled against Zack's chest.

The sound of a throat clearing was what made them pull apart. Their eyes drifted to Cloud's dad and they looked back at each other, smiling and laughing nervously. Steve was rather amused by the scene, making Cloud blush. Cloud did his best to ignore his dad and looked up at Zack.

"Thank you Zack," he said, smiling.

Zack smiled back and ruffled Cloud's hair. "I'm glad you like it Cloud." Cloud continued to smile and nodded. "This is better than a chocobo plushy, right?"

Cloud's eyes widened but there a small faint of a smile was on his parted lips. "You were going to get me a chocobo plushy?" Cloud heard his dad chuckle but ignored it. Cloud shook his head. "Uh…yeah, this _way_ better than a…chocobo plushy," he said with a nervous laugh.

Zack smiled, not able to hold back his own laughter. "Sorry Cloud, that just came up in my 'list of ideas of what to get Cloud'." He shook his head. "Anyway, I should probably get going. See ya Cloud," he said, waving and making his exit.

Cloud stared at where Zack had been standing and finally down at the iPod in his hand. Zack _cared_ enough to get him something and he…he'd gotten nothing for him. Cloud's chest ached at the thought of Zack buying him something. He shook his head and stared down at the device. He _had_ to get Zack something. Being his friend just wasn't enough. And with his love interests in the teen, he couldn't just accept the fact that Zack bought him something when he hadn't gotten anything for Zack.

"Are you ready Cloud?" his dad asked, lifting his car keys. Cloud eyed him curiously until he finally understood that his dad was basically reading his mind. He nodded and rushed to his room, slipping on his shoes and grabbed a coat (not Zack's jacket) since it was freezing cold out.

On the way to the store, Cloud wondered what he should get Zack. He stared into his wallet that didn't hold a lot of money like he wished. Did Zack have a job or something to get that much money or did he save his money? Cloud didn't know, he'd never asked.

Steve had chosen not to follow Cloud around in the store, which was a good thing for Cloud because he was afraid his dad would make fun of him when he finally _did_ decide what to get Zack. However, the store was packed with parents and their kids exchanging Christmas presents and buying new ones. He did his best to look around but he didn't really know what to get Zack. He still hardly knew the teen after those last couple months but he still felt like this gift had to be _special_.

Ironically, he came across a chocobo plushy sitting on a shelf with more of its kind surrounding it with a few cactuar's and moogles. Cloud picked up the chocobo as it stared back at him with almost the same blue eyes and golden spikes on its head. He shook his head at the thought and set it back down walking away until he stopped after a few steps, looking back at the chocobo that seemed to be begging him to get him off of the shelf. Cloud walked back to the plushy and picked it up again. He sighed, shaking his head, thinking that he must be an idiot.

And now he had strangely found himself standing right in front of Zack's house, ready to knock on the door. He had _begged_ his dad to stay in the car for him while he gave his present to Zack. His dad only teased him about the chocobo and his nickname from Zack, making Cloud blush. Taking in a big breath, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. Seconds later, the door opened and his heart fluttered when he saw Zack's face.

"Cloud, I didn't expect you to come over," Zack said, stepping aside so that Cloud could walk in. The moment he did, though, Zack's eyes lay upon the gift bag that was in Cloud's hands. "Cloud," Zack sighed, shaking his head, "I told you…"

"I know but it didn't feel right. This is kind of a last minute thing but…I figured you'd like it," he said, handing Zack the bag.

Zack cooperated and took the bag, peeking inside before pulling out the yellow, fluffy fur ball. Zack's eyes lit up at the sight of the bird and he smiled at Cloud. "You just couldn't resist, could you?" Blushing, Cloud looked down and nodded. "So is that all you came over for or was there something else?"

Cloud shook his head, looking at Zack. "No, that was it. Plus, dad's waiting for me in the car." He slowly turned to make his leave even though he really didn't want to. The thing that he really wanted to do was wrap his arms around Zack again and possibly kiss him. As he was leaving though, he stopped when he felt Zack's hand on his and looked back at the other teen.

"You can ask your dad if you can stay for a while," Zack suggested. "I mean, I'm not going to be doing anything but try to survive the boredom in my room."

A smile crept on Cloud's face and he nodded, making Zack smile. He practically skipped to his dad's car and opened the passenger door seat. He stuck his head in a little so he could talk to his dad. "Is it okay if I stay with Zack for a few hours?" Cloud asked, giving his dad his own version of "puppy eyes".

Steve chuckled a bit and nodded. "I figured you were going to say that," he said. "Be good and stay out of trouble," he said in a serious-father-tone. Cloud nodded as his dad shifted into reverse and closed the door. He waved to his dad as he pulled out of the driveway and waited until he had driven away until he went back into the house.

"You know, it's like I have two Cloud's now," Zack said the moment he reentered the house. Cloud saw Zack looking, and almost admiring, the chocobo plushy before he realized what Zack had just said.

Cloud rolled his eyes. "You still see me as a chocobo?"

Zack nodded, walking to his room and urging Cloud to follow. He did and saw Zack set the chocobo on his bed near his pillow. A smile was thrown his way and Cloud remembered that he still had his coat on. He removed it and laid it on Zack's bed. Zack looked around his room for something they could _do_, but found nothing.

"Okay Cloud, what do you want to do?"

Cloud stared blankly back at Zack. "I…was kind of hoping that you knew what to do," he said. Cloud blushed as Zack sat on his bed and lay back, his feet still touching the floor. He watched the older teen for a while until he saw something familiar on Zack's computer desk. He walked over to it and realized that it was a yearbook from freshmen year. The book was open and it was on the page of where his picture was. He stared back at the photo of himself from two years ago and shook his head, sighing. Zack heard this sigh and looked up, realizing what Cloud was looking at he sprung forward, cursing him self for not putting the book up or at least closing it.

"I look like an idiot," Cloud muttered when Zack came over and stood by him.

He shook his head. "No you don't, _Zell_ looks like an idiot," he said, turning back a page to where Zell's picture was.

Cloud had to keep from laughing or anything as he stared at Zell's freshmen photo. His hair was flat and not the usually _flip_ it had and there was no tattoo on his face. It hardly _looked _like Zell. Cloud looked over some more pictures, recognizing some kids that hated him, or were jealous, and others that hardly knew he existed. His eyes fell on Aerith; she looked just about the same, only slightly younger. Her hair was a bit shorter than what it was now, but not that much. He looked over more of his classmates until he saw a familiar face, one that was standing right next to him.

The moment he saw Zack's picture, he understood why he was called "puppy". Perhaps there were more reasons behind it but just the way Zack's hair looked in the front reminded him of a puppy. It made Zack look younger and somehow _cuter_. Everything else seemed to stay the same though as his smile was still the same smile that made Cloud's stomach turn inside out.

"Yeah, I know I look weird," Zack suddenly said.

Cloud shook his head. "No, you look…_cute_." Oh, he did _not_ just say that out loud.

Zack shrugged. "It's because of my hair, isn't it?"

Cloud nodded. Holy _damn_, he _did_, say _that_, out _loud_ to _Zack_. He saw Zack shake his head and close the book, looking down at Cloud. "Zack…" He noticed that the dark haired was staring at him thoughtfully.

"I just noticed how _blue_ your eyes really are."

Cloud swallowed a big lump as Zack began to stare into his eyes. He loved the idea that Zack was looking at his eyes, it made him feel like Aerith and Tifa were wrong about their "guy prediction" and that "just about every guy is the same". Of course, Aerith had said that Cloud was different because he wasn't that _type _of guy. And the thought of Zack staring at his eyes, rather than a different part of his body (like Tifa was always going on about), made his stomach turn and his heart beat rapidly.

"Zack…" He couldn't find the right words of what to say. He didn't even know _what _to say. He was distracted by Zack staring at him. But then Zack shook his head and looked away before looking back at Cloud.

"Sorry, I was staring and it was probably getting freaky," he said.

Cloud didn't say anything. Yet again, he didn't know what to say or even how to say anything but Zack's name. And it was pretty lame to say that they didn't really do anything by the time Cloud's dad came over to pick him up. Zack had mentioned a few things and Cloud replied to everything that he said whether it was a full sentence or an agreement or disagreement. It was strange enough that Zack had actually bothered to name his chocobo plushy and he just _had _to name it (him, as Zack was saying "he" and "his") after Cloud. Cloud had blushed at the name though and the thought of it just made him smile to himself when he was in his own room.

If it hadn't been for his dad coming over to pick him up and his damn shyness that got in the way, he would've probably leaned up towards Zack and kissed those damn lips that tortured him by forming words, pressing together in thought, whenever he licked them, with every breath he inhaled and exhaled, and whenever he smiled. It _was_ tempting to just smack his lips against Zack's and push him against a wall or _anything._

But Cloud wasn't that kind of person, even though he sometimes wished he was. Things just made everything worse for him when he thought of the name Zack picked for the chocobo. Zack just had to name the yellow bird after him and it just _had_ to _have_ part of his name. Cloud laughed though whenever he thought of the name _Cloudy_.

* * *

Aww, this chapter makes me laugh. ITS SO FLUFFY!  
Sorry, I had to do an imitation of that girl from _Despicable Me. _Haha, I love that movie. Anyway...Stupid Seifer.  
LOL, Steve cracks me up, especially when he's watching Zack and Cloud. LOL  
So as it seems, Cloud got a Black iPod and Zack got a chocobo plushy, even though that was his main thought of a present for Cloud.  
Sorry for the delay peoples, been really busy this week. I hope this chapter makes up for that and the short chapters that I have been giving you.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

After Christmas and the weekend had ended, it seemed that the break was taking forever to get over with. Yeah, it was nice to kick back and relax and get to sleep in a few hours, but Cloud was starting to get headaches from thinking too much. Mostly, he would think about Zack while other times he'd think of what the new semester was going to be like. Every time he did this though, Zack or his dad would tell him to not worry about it until school started again. But he couldn't just _let it go_. Aerith had called him about it one day and told him that he wasn't the only one thinking about it. It made him feel a little better but not a whole lot. Finally, on Wednesday, Steve had had enough with Cloud's fidgeting over school that he called Zack to take the teen somewhere.

Zack grinned as Cloud got into the car. "What're you worried about Cloud? You're one of the smartest people I know. It's not like you're going to do bad or fail your junior year," Zack said, stopping at a stop sign.

Cloud sighed. "I know, I just…I don't know. I just start wondering if it's going to be harder than the first semester and…"

Zack raised his hand to make Cloud stop. "Ah, _Cloud,_ I'm supposed to get your mind _off_ of the subject, not engage more into it."

Cloud raised an eye at Zack as he continued to drive to whatever place he was supposed to be taking him. Zack had done his best to make his voice sound like he was _way_ older than Cloud, like a parent. He smiled, trying to picture Zack being a parent but it didn't really fit well. Sure, he could see Zack being a good father (or mother), but he could also see Zack _as_ one-of-the-kids. Still, though, it was a very cute thought.

"Where are we going?" Cloud finally asked as he started to some parts of town that he didn't recognize. Wait, was that a sign that said you are now entering… "Zack, where _are_ we?"

A grin and a soft low breath came from Zack. "We are going somewhere to get your mind off of school and go someplace where you can have fun for probably the last time this year."

"O_kay_, but where are we _go_ing?"

Zack smiled. "_That_ is a surprise for you to find out when we _get_ there."

Cloud groaned but didn't protest or beg Zack to tell him where they were going. He always seemed to think more than what he usually did when he was in a car for some reason. It didn't help that he was in a car with Zack either, making him think more about _Zack_. He had probably thought about this a million times but Zack was perfect in his eyes. But it was true; he loved Zack so much it made his heart ache. Yet lost in thoughts like always, Cloud didn't realize that the car had stopped until Zack tapped him on the shoulder.

"We're here, Cloud."

Cloud looked at the building and quickly read the bright neon letters that were going to light up soon. His eyes widened as he realized that they were at a skating rink. His heart sunk as he remembered the last time he'd been to one, which was a _really_ long time ago. The main point was that he had no idea how to skate. Everyone had laughed at him at Tifa's birthday party whenever he fell onto the hard floor and he eventually had given up, sitting at a table all by himself as he waited for his dad to come pick him up. That had been one of the most embarrassing days in his life and Cloud swore that he would never step one foot in another skating rink. And now, here he was staring at one with Zack next to him in the car. He sighed, wondering if he should tell Zack.

"Zack…"

"C'mon Cloud, everyone else is probably already inside," Zack said, getting out of the car.

Cloud followed his pursuit, eyes still staring at the building. _What did he mean by everyone else?_ Did that mean that Lulu, Zell and the others were in there as well? If it did, then they'd eventually find out that he couldn't skate and they'd see him fall and they'd, no doubt, laugh. The thought made his heart sink as he watched Zack enter the rink and drug his feet across the concrete to follow. His heart sunk even more because he knew that if everyone else was laughing, Zack would probably laugh as well. And it broke his heart to think that Zack would laugh at him.

The rink was full of teenagers and a few parents that were with their younger kids. A few grandparents sat at the tables either watching the baby or amusingly watched their grandkids try to skate. One kid was holding onto the rail that was against the wall and when he did push himself off to skate he lost his balance and fell, a few of his friends pointed and laughed and he just seemed to laugh at himself too. Cloud felt his heart sink again and looked at Zack, who hadn't been paying any attention to the kids skating.

"What size do you wear in shoes, Cloud?" he asked, staring at the counter where a few people were getting skates.

Cloud looked down and felt his heart getting tugged at once again. "Zack, I have to tell you something that you might want to know." Zack seemed to be listening as he took Cloud's chin in his hand and lifted his head so that eyes met. It was as if he was saying that he wanted Cloud to look at him whenever he said something, but Cloud wasn't thinking about that as he looked at Zack's lips. "I… Zack, I can't skate," he said, biting the inside of his cheeks as he felt his face heat up.

Zack only smiled at him. "Cloud, you don't have to know how to skate. I'll be right there to tell you everything."

The answer was suitable but Cloud shook his head. "No, I fall all the time and everyone always laughs at me and it makes me feel self-conscious." He was surprised and gasped a little when Zack grabbed him by the shoulders and brought him close. Zack tightened his arms around Cloud shortly before pulling back. "It's okay Cloud, I'll be _right_ there," he said again.

Those last four words, and the embrace, made Cloud's heart clench. Just the way Zack said it made him feel more confident about himself. He nodded, silently agreeing to give skating a second chance. But the moment he was at the edge of the rink, holding onto the rail for balance, his self-consciousness was starting to build back up again. He waited for Zack to come by his side and when he finally did, he skated onto the hard floor and held out his hand to Cloud. Cloud swallowed, regretting that he agreed to this in the first place and looked back at where Lulu, Squall and Paine had decided to sit, choosing not to skate. He considered telling Zack that he wasn't feeling well but when he looked back at Zack; the other had grabbed his free hand and pulled him away from the rail.

He did admit that it felt cool to just _glide_ with the skates on but the moment Zack let go, he forgot what he was doing and slid, losing his balance. Before he could hit the floor though, Zack had his arms around him, pulling him back up. Cloud's breath started to get heavy and he tried to balance himself, holding on to Zack's shoulders. Cloud looked around him and saw everyone else skating either holding hands with who he had assumed to be their boyfriends or girlfriends. The only ones that were holding hands, and were the same sex, were Yuna and Rikku but they were _cousins_. He felt like a kid holding onto Zack and when he found his balance again, he let go of the older teen. Zack didn't remove his hands though from where they were placed just below where his arms met his shoulder.

"It's okay Cloud. I'm right here."

Those words were convincing to Cloud but so was the table that the three "anti-socials" were sitting at. Cloud sighed and decided to give it another chance, even though he didn't really want to. Zack took his hand, moving his legs around the rink as Cloud just glided. The fact that Zack was holding his hand made him feel even more like a kid but it also left a sensational feeling in his stomach. He didn't care if Zack held onto him like this forever, or more like for the next few hours.

A couple of guys called them fags for holding hands but Zack only glared at them. He wasn't about to pick another fight in front of Cloud _or_ get another lecture from Tiffany again. Plus, he didn't feel like getting thrown out of the rink and leave Cloud to decide whether or not to follow him, despite the fact that he knew that Cloud probably would follow him.

"Zack…"

"I know it hurts but so do bruises and punches," Zack said, giving the guys another glare.

Cloud shook his head. "No, that's not it. I want…I think I'm ready to try it," Cloud said, blushing.

Zack looked at him, confused, for a moment before he made an _'oh' _sound and came to a halt, letting go of Cloud's hand. "You've been watching my moves, right?" Cloud nodded, blushing a little. "Okay, it's just like walking only with a bit more force," he said. A low groan was heard from Cloud as he closed his eyes and sighed. "Don't worry; I'll catch you if you slip. I won't let you fall like Yuffie over there," he said, pointing to the bouncy girl that had been falling on her buttocks from the very beginning.

Cloud nodded and took a deep breath again. "Okay," he said, pushing himself with one foot. He started to glide a bit and his speed started slowing so he pushed himself with his other foot and continued to do this until he came to the corner.

"Slow down if you have to," Zack whispered, skating right next to him. He nodded again and lowered his speed, leaning a bit to the side until his body had fully turned. His breathing became rapid again as his mind told him that he was going to fall. "You're doing it, Cloud."

All it took was Zack's encouraging words and for him to be right there for him to be able to skate. He swallowed away the lump in his throat and gave Zack a quick look. He was smiling at him, making his features look so beautiful. Zack _was _beautiful.

"Hey, this rink ain't for fags, yo," a voice said and Cloud lost his balance. Zack caught him the moment he slid and glared at the red-haired teen that had spoken.

"And who're you supposed to be," he asked, helping Cloud stand up straight.

"The name's Reno, got it memorized?"

Zack shook his head in annoyance. He was about to say something to the teen when another teen with silver hair that looked about Yuffie's age came up to them. "I wouldn't be talking, Red. It's not like you're any different," he said, smirking.

"Shut up, kid," Reno said, smirking back at the other.

"That's _Kadaj_ to you, thank you very much."

Cloud and Zack gave each other a weird look before looking back at the two teens. "Okay, but what do you mean by 'any different'?" Zack asked.

Kadaj smiled. "He's gay, with me, even though he doesn't really like to admit it." Reno seemed to only glare at the teen when he said this and Zack sighed.

"_Okay_, but we're not a couple," Zack said, pointing to himself and Cloud. Cloud nodded, even though it hurt to think that.

Kadaj rolled his eyes and said something that neither Cloud nor Zack heard. He skated off, leaving a very confused Zack and Cloud. Reno only skated after him in lust, not giving the other two another glance. Zack and Cloud looked at each other as the couple was now heading into the bathrooms.

"That was weird," Cloud said and Zack nodded. "Did you catch what he said?"

Zack sighed and shook his head. "No…sorry," he said.

They just stared at each other for a few moments until Zell passed them, making a train sound and they looked to see that the blonde idiot had started a train with the other girls, and a few other teenagers that neither of them knew, hooked onto him and each other. Cloud smiled, tightening his lips to not laugh but he couldn't help it when Zell did his own version of a train's whistle. Zack heard this and smiled at him.

"Do you want to go over there?" Zack asked.

Cloud shook his head. "No, that's okay. Can we…stop for a moment though?"

Zack nodded and held out his hand, trying to resist a smile when Cloud took it. He led Cloud past the train of Zell and their girl friends, and the few girls and guys that they didn't know. When they exited the arena, Cloud took his skates off at a random table and put his shoes back on. He wasn't sure if he was going to go back to the arena but Zack did the same and put his own shoes on.

"We can go play a game," Zack suggested, nodding his head towards the arcade area. Cloud nodded slowly and followed Zack. He wasn't sure how to play any of the games that they had set up there except for the claw machine and Pac-man. "What game do you want to play?" Zack asked, searching his pockets for money.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know, you decide," he said. Zack puffed out a big breath of air, pursing his lips as he scanned over the games. He walked over the claw machine with a wild grin on his face and Cloud simply followed. The two were completely oblivious to the stares that they were getting.

Across from the arcade, Lulu, Paine, and Squall had been watching them ever since they set foot in the skating rink. Each of them had to admit that it was funny watching the two and a bit cute the way they reacted around each other. Paine had pointed out each time Cloud blushed whenever Zack spoke, smiled, or touched him. Squall mentioned that they were both idiots for not telling the other how they felt. And Lulu said that if Zack didn't act quickly and tell Cloud how he felt, someone else would grab Cloud's heart.

"I've already told him that before," she said, pushing Yuffie's bag away from her.

"It's Zack," Paine said. "Do you _really_ think that he was listening?"

Squall shrugged. "He would if you were talking about Cloud," he said, crossing his arms.

Neither of them could really lean back, because of the benches, how they usually would so they had to either lean to the side or lean forward, which was very uncomfortable.

"I think we should go to a rink that actually has _seats_ instead of benches to sit on," Paine suggested, playing with the straw in her drink and stabbing at the unwanted ice. Squall and Lulu nodded in agreement before their conversation went back to Cloud and Zack.

Lulu shook her head, sighing. "I think that by the time Zack gets the urge to tell Cloud how he feels is when Cloud will be standing next to another guy that's completely not good for him." She sighed again, putting a hand over her eyes and tapping her forehead with two fingers.

"Hm, maybe, but only if Cloud is really desperate and he's not the type to get desperate over anything unless it's about school," Paine commented.

"Perhaps, but I'd still hate to see Cloud lose his patience with Zack and find someone else."

"Zack's going to be very disappointed when that does happen," Squall said.

Paine looked at him with a soft but _hard_ glare and Lulu just stared. "You wouldn't," Lulu said, her stare becoming icy. Everyone knew about Squall's hormones and how he reacted, but he wasn't really gay, straight, or bisexual. He just saw something, or someone, that he liked and he ways of getting through the loops.

Squall lifted his shoulders. "If Zack doesn't then I will."

Paine was now giving him a stone-hard glare now and it seemed she was trying to pierce Squall. "I get that you think Cloud's cute because he _is_ but it's obvious that Cloud likes _Zack_."

"That may be, but it still doesn't change anything," Squall added.

A threat was about to be made by Paine but the two oblivious 'lovebirds' were coming back and now _really_ wasn't the time.

"Do you want to skate some more or are you done?" Zack asked Cloud, walking over to the table where their skates were.

Cloud shrugged a little. "I don't really want to skate anymore," he said in his innocent-sweet voice.

A smile spread across Zack's face as he picked up their skates and walked over to the counter to return them. Cloud sat down at an empty table that was close to where the other three were sitting. Paine glared at Squall as he was watching the blonde. Lulu got up from where she was sitting and walked over to where Zack was.

"Zack, I have to talk to you," she said seriously. Even though her voice was always sincere and very serious, this was as serious as she got.

Zack groaned a bit, setting the skates on the counter. "Lu, if this is about me telling Cloud how I feel then I don't want to hear it."

Lulu glared at him. Usually the nickname bothered her but this was more important than just some stupid nickname. "Zack, if you don't do something then Squall_ will_."

His eyes widened and a shocked and confused face turned towards her. "What do you mean?"

"While you and Cloud were in the arcade, Squall told us that if you didn't act then _he_ would. Zack, this is serious. Cloud doesn't need someone like Squall. If you've noticed and _ever_ listened to Angeal, they're both the quiet type of person."

Zack sighed. "Yeah, usually he says that though when he's trying talking about two people pairing up or breaking up. If they're the same kind of person then I have nothing to worry about, right?"

Lulu looked like she was about to explode. "_Zack_, Squall doesn't just look at someone for their personality. He lusts after them, remember? Do you _really_ want Cloud's innocence to be lost to someone that doesn't _love_ him?"

Okay, now the strange Gothic chick was starting to talk some sense into him. Zack looked back at Squall as a man behind the counter picked up the skates he had sat down. Squall was_ eyeing_ Cloud like he was something to eat. This scared Zack because he knew how cute Cloud really was and it hurt him to think that someone would take Cloud's innocence without love. It hurt and angered him. He made a fist, clenching until his knuckles turned white and there were fingernail marks in his palm.

"Zack, Cloud's cute in every way he possibly can be. It doesn't matter if you're with him or not because people will still try to get in his pants. I know that Cloud isn't the type to jump after the first guy that comes along, but just keep his innocence in mind."

Zack nodded, leaving Lulu to stand there for a moment as she watched him go over and sit by Cloud. She knew that Zack wasn't going over there to tell Cloud his feelings but she felt better just telling him what Squall was planning and to be careful.

* * *

Cloud was waiting for Zack outside by his car. Zack had asked at least ten times if he was going to be okay by himself and told him at least fifteen times that it was going to be cold out. At the thought of this, Cloud snuggled into his coat more, breathing into his hands. He knew that it was cold but he didn't know it was _this_ cold. He thought about going back inside but thought better of the idea and continued to breathe in his hands. If he could have gotten into the car he would but the keys were with Zack and Zack was trying to find his own coat.

"You look cold," a voice said. Cloud looked up at Squall.

He nodded, fisting his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, a bit," he said, his sentence coming out as a stutter.

"Do you want to wait in my car, where there's heat?" Squall asked. Cloud thought he saw Squall grin when he nodded but shook the thought off. He'd never seen Squall smile _or_ grin since day one and he doubted that he would start now. He followed him to his car and sat in the passenger seat, waiting for the vehicle to warm up when Squall turned the key in the ignition.

Cloud felt very tense in Squall's car. He didn't know if it was because it was a new vehicle or if it was just Squall. He still wasn't sure of what to think about the brunet. For a long moment he kept staring at the skating rink's entrance door, hoping that Zack would come out soon. About six minutes passed and his body temperature had already risen from the heat and Zack still hadn't come out. He was starting to worry about him and considered going back inside for about the fourth time and looked over at Squall.

"Cloud, did you know that Zack has been considering going out with someone?" If Squall would've added that it was a girl or a guy older or younger than them, it would've been a lie. Since Zack had talked about Cloud nonstop though, and had practically said that he was going to ask him out someday, it wasn't exactly a lie but it wasn't the truth either. Squall just had to make Cloud believe that Zack wanted go with someone and convince the blond that it _wasn't _him, even if it would break his heart.

"No, he never mentioned it to me," Cloud said, eyes widening with either hope or disappointment. Squall couldn't tell which one it was though, so he decided to add more details.

"Yeah, he's been talking about it for a few weeks now, maybe more than that. He always goes on about how dark his eyes are too," Squall said, lying about the part with dark eyes. Cloud's heart fell to the bottom of his stomach and he felt as if someone had stabbed him. "Since he hasn't mentioned it though, he probably wants to surprise you about it so it'd be best if you didn't let him know that _you_ knew."

Cloud nodded, believing the brunet just as the moment Zack came out of the building. He gave a weak smile to Squall and walked over to Zack's car, waiting for him to unlock the doors. He hadn't seen the evil smirk that had managed to play itself along Squall's lips. And on the car ride home, he was silent through the whole thing as he stared out the window. Zack had constantly asked him if he was okay and Cloud had lied, saying that he was. Zack didn't believe him but he wasn't about to question it either. When he pulled up to Cloud's house, he stopped Cloud from getting out so quickly.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" he asked in a soothing tone. "You can tell me anything at all, you know that."

Cloud nodded. "I know and I'm okay, just a bit tired."

Zack sighed. "Okay, you should probably get some rest then…"

Another pain hit Cloud's chest and he quickly nodded before opening the passenger door. "See ya Zack," he said, rushing out of the car and into his house. Once again he was grateful that his dad wasn't in the living room when he entered the house and ran straight to his room, shutting the door behind him. He had thrown himself into his pillow and let the tears fall down his face. He had been through this before but he was _in love_ with Zack more than he was a month ago.

He turned over on his back and sighed, covering his eyes with his hands. Why did everything he ever wanted most was something he never got? Did that mean he'd never have Zack? The thought made more tears fall and he quickly wiped them away. The more he thought about Zack, the more he didn't want to ever think about him. He wished that every thought he'd had, every dream he'd dreamt, would just disappear. If Zack was someone he wasn't going to be able to have then he didn't want anything to do with Zack _at all_. It sounded childish but he really didn't.

If Zack was in love with different people and would never love him back than he didn't want to love Zack. Cloud didn't want to be in love with him anymore. It ached just to think that but what was the point anymore? He saw part of his face in the reflection of a mirror in his room and shook his head, turning on his stomach so that he could bury his head into the mattress and pillow. He didn't get how Aerith, Yuna, Rikku, Tifa, Yuffie, and everyone else thought that he was cute.

All the thoughts led him into sleep just moments before his dad came in to check on him. When he saw that he was asleep he smiled to himself and grabbed a blanket to wrap it around his son. Cloud looked so peaceful when he slept. He leaned down to give him a 'secretive kiss' that Cloud wouldn't let him do anymore. When he did this, he saw that Cloud's cheeks were red and that his eyes looked swollen. Steve brushed a hand through Cloud's hair and saw stained tears running down the boy's cheeks. He sighed to himself and made a mental note to ask Cloud in the morning and gently kissed the golden top of his locks.

* * *

Zack was _almost_ having the same problem. He was still awake, however, and was spread out on his bed, thinking about Cloud. The chocobo haired teen looked so sad that it made his heart ache. He would _never_ think to hurt Cloud in any way. Zack loved him too much to even consider it. And if he had or did, he swore that he'd do his best to fix it.

He never did get any sleep and if he did, he didn't remember it. His mind was too focused on a certain blonde.

* * *

Okay, so that's the new chapter. Yay...?  
Awww, poor Cloud. Bad Squall, bad.  
Hahaha, Reno said "got it memorized"... For anyone that doesn't know, I'll explain: There is a character on Kingdom Hearts II that looks JUST like Reno with Spiky red hair. He has green eyes though and his name is Axel. Axel said a sentence like that either in Kingdom Hearts II or Kingdom Hearts: ReChain of Memories, or both, I don't remember. "The names Axel, got it memorized?" pointing a finger to the side of his head. They even have the same voice dude. LOL.  
Anyway, back to story...  
I doubt that Reno and Kadaj will be coming back into the story again but one of the other remnants of Sephiroth will. Oh, and starting now, there's going to be a little bit of DRAMA with our little Cloud.  
And sorry, if this is delayed, I completely forgot because I was doing my own reading and reviewing of Zack and Cloud, hehe. Oh, and plus I can't sleep at night. Don't ask why, but I'll tell you one word: Nightmares. And it's NOT because of the fanfic that I read either.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Ever since he was a kid, he believed in traditions. The one he remembered the most was his mom telling that kisses were always shared on the New Year. For a long time, he had been the one to kiss his mom because his dad was never there or too buzzed to kiss her. He remembered kissing Yuna before because they were together at that time. The last person he had kissed on New Year's was Angeal. This crossed his mind as the thought of a way to tell Cloud how he felt. Many ways had come to his mind like writing one of those corny letters, telling him with a text message, e-mailing, calling him on the phone, and telling him face to face. He had thought about having someone tell Cloud for him about how he felt but it was as if Lulu read his mind because his phone vibrated on his desk after that and she had said in a stern voice that Cloud had to know from _him_.

He had given up after that and the memory of New Year's tradition flashed in his head. And then the thought of kissing Cloud came to his mind and he considered it. That would definitely tell Cloud how he felt but he felt like he'd be pushing himself on Cloud. What if he didn't feel the same way?

"Zack, I'm sure Cloud likes you and if he denies it then he's lying to everyone including himself," Yuna said.

She was right in a way, Cloud was a terrible liar. Zack had seen through each lie that the blonde had told. A few he had managed to poke out of him while he just let the others go because of the pain in Cloud's eyes when he told the lie. It stung his heart to think that something was hurting him inside.

"Hey, if Cloud doesn't feel the same way then he's crazy," Rikku said. "I mean, seriously Zack, have you ever took the time to _look_ at yourself?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "Yes Rikku, but that still doesn't mean anything."

Now he was letting thoughts rain on him, literally. He had watched himself undress in the mirror above the bathroom sink as he continued to think of how to tell Cloud. Thoughts came to him as droplets of water hit his naked skin and bounced off onto the wall and floor and down the drain. Would Squall really try to get Cloud all to himself? He couldn't really say "that's not what friends are supposed to do" since Squall was more of Zell, Lulu, and Paine's friend than anyone else.

He tried to think of all the times that Squall was present when he was with Cloud. He'd never really paid attention if Squall had ever looked at Cloud or if he had given the blond any kind of look. Zack was too busy staring into Cloud's eyes and admiring just how cute he was.

With a towel around his waist, Zack stepped out of the shower, almost tripping over the rug that was rested at the shower's entrance. Exiting the bathroom, he walked to his room and pulled out a pair of boxers from his dresser. The towel slid from his hips and fell to the floor as he pulled his boxers up to his waist. He walked to his closet and grabbed a pair of jeans, pulling them up and fastening them, realizing that he was going to need a belt as the hung loosely at his sides.

A soft knock was heard from his door before someone entered. He looked out of his closet, seeing Rick standing in his room as Zack grabbed a shirt and shut the closet door behind him. Rick gave him a weird look as he was still shirtless and his pants were hung, showing the band of his boxers.

"Zack, I just thought that you'd like to know that Cloud's here," he said.

Zack smirked. "You mean, you're happy that Steve's here," Zack teased. Ever since he had woken up, he had been picking on the older man about his relationship with Cloud's dad. Rick had asked him before if he thought that it was weird or uncomfortable for him being with Cloud's dad, since Zack was crushing on Cloud. Zack had answered that it wasn't weird, just amusing and would only be uncomfortable for him if Rick was his uncle or_ dad_.

"Yeah, that too," Rick said as Zack pulled his shirt over his head. It rested on his shoulders as he put his hands behind his neck and pushed his hair out of the shirt. He was certain that he would tell Cloud how he felt either tonight or tomorrow. That was his New Year's Resolution.

After Rick had walked out of his room he grabbed a brush and tried to do _something_ with his matted hair. He tried to get it where he actually looked like himself but it was still too wet to really do anything with it. With a sigh, he put down the brush and exited his room, hoping that Cloud wouldn't say anything about his hair. It wasn't that he'd mind or that it'd make him feel bad, it would just break his heart for Cloud to not like him as a friend or _anything_ because of his stupid hair. He doubted that Cloud was that kind of person, though. After all, he had known the blonde for about two months now and he was sure Cloud wouldn't do that to him.

Cloud _did_ stare at him funny though when he walked up to him. Zack had expected this because _everyone_ that seen him with his hair wet like this always looked at him funny. A smile escaped from Cloud and he let out a low laugh. Zack sighed and shook his head, smiling at Cloud.

"Do I really look that funny?"

Cloud shook his head. "N-no, you just look different and I never expected you to look like this with your hair wet." Cloud blushed a bit at his sentence.

Zack shrugged. "Yeah, no one ever does," he said.

After that moment, it was silent between the two. Cloud looked away, staring at something else rather than Zack's eyes or just Zack. Zack noticed this and felt his heart sting in the middle of his chest. A conversation between the two had never been this awkward. If it had, Cloud would always tell Zack what was bugging him or it was because the two had just met. It hurt him to think that there was something wrong with Cloud and that there was something he wasn't telling him. Of course, Zack wasn't exactly telling Cloud something either.

"Hey, Cloud," Zack started but Cloud didn't look up at him.

"I'm…I have…I have to go outside for a bit," Cloud said, grabbing his coat as he walked out.

Zack stared at the door, wondering why Cloud had to leave like that. He sighed and closed his eyes. Now he really knew that there was something bugging the blonde. Zack shook his head and walked back to his room to get his shoes and own coat. As he tied his shoes, he looked over at the chocobo sitting at the head of his bed, resting against his pillow. Everything that Cloud did or said made his heart quiver.

"Zack, where are you going? Oh, where's Cloud?" Tiffany asked as Zack walked out of his room, wrapping his coat around himself.

"He said something about going outside. I was going to make sure that he's alright and not freezing to death out there," Zack said.

Tiffany nodded. "Okay. Well, if you can, try to get him to come back in here. I'm starting to worry about him," she added.

Zack rolled his eyes and walked out of the house. He looked around for Cloud until saw him sitting in the passenger seat of his dad's car, head in his knees. Puffing out a big breath, causing fog to escape his lips, Zack walked over to the passenger side of the car. He tapped on the window, causing Cloud to look up and open the door.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked, bending over a little so that he was face to face with Cloud.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah," he said meekly. He didn't look at Zack in the eyes, knowing that his heart would just burst and tears would start falling if he did.

"Can we talk, Cloud?" Cloud nodded again and scooted over into the driver's seat. Zack sat in the passenger seat and looked over at Cloud. "Cloud, I don't know how to tell you this but…" Zack sighed. How was he going to tell this to Cloud? He was pretty sure that this would be a good start. The only thing he had to worry about was explaining it and not sounding too corny. "Cloud, I'm going to…"

A shake of the blonde's head made him stop. "You're going to tell someone that you're in love with them and that you want to start dating them," Cloud said, still not looking at Zack.

Zack was taken aback. Did someone say something to him? Did anyone mention it to him? How did Cloud _know_? "Uh, yeah…but Cloud, I have to tell you…"

Cloud shook his head again, looking at Zack. "Don't Zack, please. Don't tell me anything because I don't want to know."

There was a sharp pang in Cloud's chest as he said this and the same thing was happening to Zack. "Cloud, you have to know…"

Tears started to form at the corner of the blonde's eyes. "Zack, don't, I don't want to hear about it. Please," he pleaded. Zack just stared at Cloud as the blonde looked down and buried his face against the steering wheel. The older teen reached out to touch Cloud but the moment he did, Cloud pulled away. "Just… Zack, please, just go."

"Cloud…"

"_Please_, Zack, leave me alone."

Zack sighed before he opened the car door and got out. He gave Cloud one last, hurtful look before walking back into the house. Discarding his coat, Tiffany gave him a questioning look and he shook his head, walking to his room and throwing his coat on his bed.

"Tell me what happened," she said as he came out of his bedroom.

A shrug and sigh came from Zack before he shook his head. "I don't know. I tried to get him to tell me what was wrong, but he wanted to be left alone," Zack said, his heart getting tugged on. _I was going to tell him that I loved him_, Zack thought.

"I'll go talk to Steve about it and see if he can get that boy to get back in here."

Zack watched her talk to Cloud's dad, concern written all over the older male's face. Steve walked out with his coat in one arm. Zack hoped that the man could get Cloud to come back, since it seemed that he had said or done something to upset the blonde. If he had done something to hurt Cloud inside, he wanted to fix it and make it right. His heart rose when Steve came back with Cloud following from behind. He moved to approach Cloud but the blonde didn't notice and slowly took off his coat before sitting on the couch by his dad. Zack thought that it'd be better to leave the blonde to think for a while before talking to him.

* * *

The countdown started for the New Year at two and a half minutes. The small clock that represented the time until the next year was glowing a bright neon with fireworks jumping out every few seconds. Tiffany lit five candles, one for everyone, and told everybody to make a wish and blow out the flame when the numbers reached zero.

Cloud watched the fire glowing in front of him. He folded his hands, his legs trembling as the clock began to count back from ten. He knew what he was going to wish for. His dad was squeezing Rick's hand in his own and Cloud felt his cheeks heat up as he wished he could do the same, only to Zack. He looked over at the other teen and bit the insides of his cheek to keep from crying. He wished he could be with Zack and blew out the flame as fireworks boomed on the television, representing the New Year. Smoke curled up into the air as wax melted into the candle.

"What'd you wish for, Cloud?" Zack asked after he had blown out his candle. Rick and Steve were kissing for the New Year.

Cloud shook his head. "I can't tell you, you're not supposed to tell what you wish for."

Zack sighed. "Don't tell me you actually believe in that fairytale myth." Cloud nodded. "Whatever, but what if you have to tell someone your wish for it to come true?" Cloud shrugged. "Can I tell you what I wished for?" Cloud shook his head. "Why not," Zack asked.

"Cloud's right Zack, you're not supposed to tell what you wish for unless or until it has already come true," Tiffany said.

"_Okay_, but the only way my wish is going to come true _is_ if I _tell_ Cloud."

Tiffany shrugged, putting a hand on Cloud's shoulder from where she was standing beside him. "You'll just have to find a different way of telling him," she said.

Zack groaned. He wanted to tell Cloud how he felt before Squall got any bright ideas. But it seemed that Cloud wasn't interested. What was wrong with him? He hadn't talked to him much since Wednesday. Did Squall say something? His eyes lit up the moment Cloud had left with his dad. That _had _to be it. Squall _must_ have said something to Cloud that day. He was fine until Zack had left the poor kid in the freezing cold while he looked for his coat in the rink.

_Squall…_

_Cloud…_

* * *

He had told his dad that he didn't want to see Zack, but his dad said that he had to face him sometime, reminding him that school was Monday. Even so, his chest ached too much too see Zack. He thought that his heart was going to burst when Zack admitted that he was going to tell someone that he loved them. Every time he thought of Zack, he'd tell himself that he didn't love him. That only made him ache more than what he already was though. And he wanted to cry for just thinking about it...

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter...but I couldn't think of any other way on how to add to it. *covers eyes and starts crying* Awww, I'm sorry...please don't hate me...

*Sniffles* Aww, poor Cloudy...  
Hurry, Zack! Hurry!  
**Zack: I'm trying, I'm trying!  
**Me: Not good enough...  
**Zack: (evil stare)...Don't be mean (puppy pout)  
**Me: ...Awwww  
**Zack: (evil grin)**  
_Cloud: Hello! I'm the one with the problem here!_  
Me: (Drools over Zack)  
_Cloud: *sigh*... Whatever, **zlp** says to review..._  
**Zack: Yeah...**

Anyway...what do you think? Told ya there'd me some drama...That's just the beginning though.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

The first Monday of January was different from any other Monday Cloud had experienced. He had woken up with his eyes red and swollen from crying the previous night. His dad had asked if he wanted he wanted to stay home from school but Cloud shook the idea off. He didn't wait for Zack to come pick him up either, walking to school instead. For once, Aerith and Tifa weren't at his locker like they usually were on Monday's. Zack didn't come over to ask him why he wasn't home, say something to him, or even tease him at all either.

His chest ached as he walked to the classroom after checking in with his teachers. Most of them asked if he was okay, referring to his red eyes that were barely open. He only nodded, not making any eye contact with anyone else in his class or even in the hall. Zack was already in the room, reminding Cloud of why he had been crying last night. He hadn't taken his usual seat by where Cloud sat though. It was like those first few weeks when Zack sat across from him.

Zack had seen his eyes unfortunately and asked if he was okay. Cloud felt his chest tighten as he thought of the reason why he _was not_ okay. He felt like crying again.

"Cloud, you do know that you can tell me anything, right?" Zack asked, sympathy ringing out of his voice as if it were a melody.

Cloud nodded mumbling, "I know." There wasn't much said after that. Cloud's reason was because he was afraid it would hurt more if he so much as looked at Zack and thought of the teen. Zack had two reasons, one was he didn't want to say anything to Cloud in case he would somehow upset the blonde and the other was because he couldn't bring himself to hurt him.

Cloud didn't pay attention to the assignments his teachers had assigned him. He betrayed himself by paying attention to what Zack was doing. The pain struck him hard and he started choking on the tears that wanted to escape so badly. It felt like needles were being pushed in the back of his eyes. He didn't ever remember crying like this. Was he really that lovesick? Was being lovesick supposed to hurt this much? A tear blurred his vision and he averted his eyes from looking at Zack, blinking several times to make the tear go away.

The hours passed with each minute feeling like an hour and each hour feeling like a lifetime. He felt relieved when the bell for lunch rang and Cloud lazily followed Zack to the cafeteria.

Zack didn't say much to the blonde at lunch either. He was still afraid that he'd upset him and he didn't want that. He didn't pay attention to the others or what they were talking about, either. Every few minutes he would say something to Cloud, little things like if he was okay, did he want to talk, and something that just came out at random. The blonde's responses were either light shrugs, slow nods, a shake of his head, a yes or a no, or nothing but a blank stare at the floor. The others saw this too, noticing Cloud's quiet mood and saddened face. Zack looked at Squall to see if his eyes were on the blonde or somewhere (someone) else. Most of the time he would be looking at Cloud like he was something to eat, other times he would look at someone else around the table, the floor, or even _Zack_.

Apparently Cloud had been in a conversation with Zell as the hyper blonde held him close in a hug and told him that he was always a good friend to talk to. Cloud nodded and gave him a weak smile as the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Zell gave Cloud one more hug before Cloud followed Zack back to their classroom. His blue eyes stared at the floor the entire time and when they were back in the room, Cloud just stared at his open notebook that he'd been studying, occasionally writing notes from the textbook that had also be left open. To tell the truth, Cloud had been "studying" Zack the entire time, looking down at his written notes and pretending to write something down for his next test when Zack would look up.

Looking at Zack and "studying" didn't help with the fact that he was trying to get over the teen. If this continued, Zack still on his mind everyday, he'd be heartbroken forever. The thought made his eyes sting and he quickly got up from his chair, catching Zack's attention.

"Where're you going?" Zack asked, looking up from his textbook

"T-…to the bathroom," Cloud said. It was the first place that came to his mind and the only place where he knew he'd at least have some privacy. He didn't wait for Zack to reply as he walked out of the room. A tear cornered his eyes in a blur as he pushed the bathroom door open. Thoughts ran through his head as he walked around the wall that secured the bathroom area, (to give more privacy because some people liked to open the door all the way and very wide).

He slid down the wall and hid his face in his knees. Two olive arms wrapped around his head as the tears fell down his cheeks and into his jeans. Zack had made progress since he started tutoring him. Everyone had said so and Tiffany commented about it and thanked him for putting up with her nephew.

Zack _had_ improved and the thought that Zack wouldn't need him anymore hurt inside. He shook his head slowly, telling himself that it was a _good_ thing. But more tears started a new trail down his cheeks and he slowly whispered the teen's name.

'_Zack…'_

* * *

Zack thought to himself of what Cloud ate at lunch, trying to think if he ate anything that would make him sick. He couldn't remember picking up anything or Cloud picking anything that would make him sick to his stomach. Maybe Cloud wasn't sick, though. He could've just been doing regular bathroom business. But did it take him this long? Zack's imagination started to run. What if Seifer was in there with him? Worst, what if _Squall_ was in the bathroom with him? Oh man, that would be bad either way. What if he fell? Zack considered the thought before shaking his head. Cloud could be careless but he wasn't clumsy. The only time Zack had seen Cloud being clumsy was when he was on skates, no where else.

His chair made a weird squeaking sound as he scooted back and walked out of the classroom. Zack was cursing himself in his head as he made his way to the bathroom. He gently pushed the door open just in case Squall (or Seifer) really was inside with the blonde. He leaned against the wall that Cloud was sitting against on the other side. After a few seconds, he heard someone mumbling.

"Zack…" It was Cloud's voice. Zack leaned against the wall, his head resting against the icky colored paint. "I love him so much," Cloud mumbled, causing Zack's stomach to turn. "I don't want to love him anymore, though. Please…"

Blue eyes widened and Zack's face was struck with hurt as he realized what had just happened. He exited the bathroom as quietly as he came in and started walking down the hallways, but not towards the classroom. Cloud was in love with him. He swore he stopped breathing when he heard that word. It seemed that Cloud didn't want to love him anymore though because of something he'd obviously done. Zack tried to run everything through his head of what happened on New Year's Eve and Day. What had he said? What had he done?

He entered the office and the attendance lady looked up at him with slight annoyance. She sighed and stopped typing something on her computer before leaning forward on her desk and putting her hands together in front of her. "What is it, Zackary?" she asked.

Zack cringed at the name. She only did that to annoy him and she _knew_ that it annoyed him. It didn't bother him when Lulu or Tiffany would say it though, probably because he respected them. Angeal had said it, but Zack let him because he had _loved_ him. He remembered that Cloud had said his name to him a few times, but Cloud was just too innocent and sweet to get mad at. "I need to talk to my aunt," he said.

She sighed heavily and picked up her phone, pushing a number and putting the device to her ear. Zack shook his head. He didn't know why she didn't just get up and knock on Tiffany's office door. _The woman sure could use some exercise,_ Zack thought cruelly, pointing out her heavy stomach. She said something into the phone and motioned for Zack to have a seat. Zack debated it but shook his head, sitting in one of the chairs. It wasn't too long later that Tiffany stepped out of her office and beckoned for Zack to come in.

He jumped out of his chair and walked into her office, taking a seat in one of the big chairs across her desk. Tiffany took her seat at her desk and folded her hands in her lap, studying Zack.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

Zack shook his head. "No, everything's okay. At least, for me it is." He sighed and looked away, thinking of Cloud.

"What do you mean by 'at least for you'?"

"It's Cloud," he said quietly, but loud enough for Tiffany to hear him. "I-I just think that it would be better for someone else to tutor me."

Tiffany's face was pure shock. "I don't understand. Is there something going on between you two?"

Zack shook his head again. "No, I just think that it would be better for Cloud if I had someone else to tutor me."

Tiffany thought for a moment, understanding a bit of what Zack was saying. "I see. I'll talk to Cloud about it after school. I'll ask him whether or not he still wants to tutor you. Is that okay?"

Zack nodded, standing up. "Yeah, that's fine."

* * *

Cloud ran the cold water down his face, soaking his eyes as he did so. He looked at himself in the mirror one more time, thinking that he was pretty pathetic to be crying over a boy; especially when that boy was Zack Fair, probably the hottest student in school, (even if he was a juvenile). He should've known from the beginning that Zack was the type of boy that would have every girl (and most guys) lingering all over him. He shook his head at the thought and left the bathroom, walking back to the classroom. Zack was still in there, looking at his book and writing answers down on a sheet of paper. He looked up when Cloud took his seat across from him.

"Are you okay now?" Zack asked with concern, not really referring to anything. The last thing he wanted Cloud to know was that he had heard his confession in the bathroom.

Cloud nodded. "Y-yeah, I'll be fine."

There wasn't much said after that, more silence. Zack thought about _trying_ to make a conversation with the blonde but no ideas came to mind. He saw Cloud's reddened cheeks and eyes, his heart being tugged at.

When the final bell rang, signaling that school was over, Zack waved at Cloud and asked him if he wanted a ride home. Cloud shook his head, saying something about catching a ride with Tifa. Although this was lie, and Zack knew it was a lie, he didn't say anything to get the blonde to change his mind. Cloud knew that Tifa would probably already have her car piled with a bunch of her girl friends and he did not want to be crowded around a bunch of girls.

As he walked to his locker, names were called down to the office. He stopped doing the combination on his lock when his name was called and shook his head, starting over on his lock. He grabbed his coat and backpack, walking down to the office. The attendance lady saw him and smiled, telling him that the principal, Tiffany, wanted to talk to him. And almost at that moment, the woman had walked out of her office and saw Cloud waiting for her. She smiled at him and walked over to him.

"Cloud, I'd like to talk to you about something," she said, leading him to her office. He followed without hesitation but didn't take a seat as she didn't either. "Cloud, I know I've already done this a few times but I want to thank you for putting up with Zack for this long." Cloud just nodded. "I wanted to ask you a question about something, though. I know you're really close with Zack and I know that you've been tutoring him for a long time now but I need to know if you want to continue doing this. I understand that it's probably getting in the way of some of your classes so that's why I want to ask you this. Do you want to continue tutoring Zack for the rest of the year or would you like to return to your classes and I can have someone else take your position?"

He thought about this for a while. Tutoring Zack for the rest of the year might hurt him even more because he _still_ wasn't over the teen and was _still_ in love with him. He felt bad for having someone else do it and wondered who that person would be. There weren't a lot of kids in his class but there were enough to say that a lot of the girls were pretty, but Zack wasn't straight. He didn't know of any gays in his class except for himself.

After some time, he shook his head. "You don't want to keep tutoring Zack?" Tiffany asked. Cloud shook his head again, not able to form any words. "I see. I'll have someone arranged soon. I can't promise that it'll be tomorrow, though. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah," Cloud managed to choke out.

Tiffany nodded. "Okay. Can I just ask, though, is there something going on between the two of you?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, not that I know of," he answered.

"Okay, I was just wondering," she said.

Cloud left her office and walked out of the school, hunching his shoulders upward from the cold. He trembled as he started to walk home and was distracted at the end of a stop sign by a honking sound of a car. He turned his head to the left to see a familiar car, Zack's car. The passenger window rolled down, showing Zack's face.

"Hey Cloud, what happened to Tifa driving you home?" Zack asked. Cloud shrugged. "I can give you a ride, Cloud. It's no problem, really." Cloud didn't say anything, just turned his head. Zack reached across the seat and opened the door, pushing it open. "C'mon Cloud, please? I'd hate to see you get sick from this cold," he said, adding the puppy pout.

Cloud cursed himself as his feet drug their way to the car. He sat in the passenger seat, not making eye contact with Zack. Zack didn't say anything to him as he continued to drive. Cloud stared out of the window the whole time, watching houses pass him. When Zack reached Cloud's house, the blonde hastily opened the door.

"Hey," Zack said, making Cloud stop. "Cloud, I'm…" Cloud looked at him, urging him to continue but Zack shook his head. "It's nothing, I'll see ya later."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, see ya," he mumbled, getting out of the car.

Steve noticed his red cheeks when he walked through the door. He thought about asking Cloud if he was okay but he knew better. Cloud was not okay. He had been a teenager once before. He knew what it was like to be in love and he knew what it was like to be lovesick. And just by looking at Cloud's saddened expression, and by watching the way he walked slowly to his room, he knew that Cloud's heart probably felt like it was being set on fire at the moment.

* * *

"Zackary, can I ask you something?"

Zack looked up from the _book_ that he had been reading for the past few days. He nodded, setting the book down on the pages. "Sure," he said as Tiffany sat beside him on the bed.

"I wasn't going to ask you this at school just in case someone would happen to be eavesdropping; I just want to know though. I talked to Cloud today about tutoring you and gave him the option of choosing whether or not he wanted to continue this."

"He said no, didn't he?" Zack said, looking down at the floor with his elbows on his knees and fingers interlacing each other, his chin resting on top of his long fingers.

Tiffany nodded. "Yeah, I told him that it may take a few days to get everything situated. He was okay with it but he looked hurt, like he'd been crying. Do you know anything about it?"

Zack shrugged. "A bit," he mumbled, looking up at her. "It started last week when we went to the skating rink. I think someone said something to him then. Today though he went to the bathroom in a hurry and I followed him after a while to make sure he was okay. When I went in the bathroom though, I heard him crying and…confessing his love out loud."

"Did you hear who it was he was talking about?" she asked, a little anxious now.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, he was talking about me. But…he was saying stuff like 'I don't want to love him' and 'I love him so much'."

Tiffany sighed. "It seems that you've done something to upset him," she said, standing up.

A shrug came from Zack and he shook his head. "I don't know what it is though. He won't tell me anything and I doubt that his dad knows anything. But…I think I know who I need to talk to," he said.

_Squall…_

* * *

yay, a new chapter! Okay, so just recently I looked to see how many reviews I have and...*sniffles* Thank you, everyone that has reviewed! :')  
Anyway, I like this chapter. It was very...heart wrenching to write and it made me sad. I fixed a few things and this is to all of you that have been reviewing about my mistakes: Thanks, I need to know where there's an error. And I will fix those but not until the story is complete because I don't want to confuse anyone with a NEW and UPDATED chapter.  
I hope you guys have some tissues because it looks like I need one right now...

Something freaky happened to me... Around three in the morning I was listening to the song **In The Air Tonight **by Phil Collins on YouTube. For some reason I always turn the radio on when I go to sleep because I don't like to hear anything else. I wake up sometime in the afternoon and THAT song is playing. Wow...creepy. And I think that's the song that they used for my uncle's funeral...but I only _think_.

Oh, and I love Zell. He's amazing! I want a friend like him. Hmmm...  
For some reason, I talked to my Zack poster the other day... I was talking to myself about something dumb and I looked up at his poster and I said, "Isn't that right, Zacky?" and he just looked down... But he was already looking down to begin with...oh well.

Reviews...please?


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

By Wednesday, everything went back to "normal". Cloud didn't have to tutor Zack anymore, one of his classmates was given the task. The guy was the second smartest in the class but he was also a complainer. Cloud wondered how he was going to be able to put up with Zack and, deep down in his heart, he hoped that Zack would be okay with the obnoxious boy.

At lunch, Cloud walked to his locker and grabbed his book. He turned it in his hands a few times before shutting his locker and walking to the library. A soft and delicate voice called out his name and he stopped walking, turning to see Zack running up to him. His heart clenched at the sight of the boy. Zack rubbed the back of his head before looking at Cloud.

"You're not eating lunch?" Zack asked, mentally cursing himself for not being able to think of something _better_ to say.

Cloud shook his head, lifting his head. "N-no, I'm gonna go to the library and look for a new book."

Disappointment crossed Zack's face and he looked a bit sad. Cloud couldn't remember to breathe, not wanting to see Sad-Zack anymore. "Oh, well if you change your mind and ever want to…"

"I know," Cloud said, cutting him off and turning to leave.

"Cloud," the blonde stopped, looking over his shoulder. "I…" he sighed. "I really miss you, you know."

As Zack's sad expression turned into the sad puppy face, Cloud felt his heart drop six feet below. "Okay," was all he managed to choke out and waited for Zack to leave.

* * *

Zack knew exactly where the person he was looking for was. He turned a hallway until he came to where a statue of the school's mascot stood. The hall was deserted except for Squall leaning against the wall with his head down in thought and his arms crossed. This was his special _getaway_ as he knew that no one really came down this way during lunch. Zack walked up to him, clenching a fist until his knuckles turned white and unclenching it.

"Squall," Zack said, causing the teen to look up. "Did you say anything To Cloud at the skating rink?"

Squall shrugged. "Maybe," he said lowly. "Why do you care?"

"Why do I _care_? I _care_ because Cloud's upset about something and it's obviously about something that I did or said to him. I have no idea what that is though. What did you tell him?" His blood was starting to rise and he had to bite his lip to keep from screaming.

A sigh came from the brunet and he pushed himself off the wall. "I told him that you were planning on telling someone that you liked them."

"_You're going to tell someone that you're in love with them and that you want to start dating them."_

Cloud's words rung in his ears. So _that_ was what it was all about. "I didn't tell him that you were going to ask _him_ out though," Squall added.

Zack's eyes narrowed and he looked away. "Of course you wouldn't. Lulu told me that you had set your mind to make a move on Cloud if I didn't."

Squall shrugged. "_Are_ you, or are going to sit and watch someone else take him from you? Maybe it won't be me, but it could be someone that wouldn't treat him right. Do you understand what I'm saying Zack?"

"I'm not stupid," Zack said, looking into Squall's cold blue eyes.

"Then I suggest that you take Lulu's advice," Squall said, turning and walking away from Zack, leaving the teen puzzled and confused on what he should do.

Zack sighed and started walking to lunch. The line hardly had anybody in it and many teens were sitting around already eating. Zack grabbed a tray, not really paying attention to what he was grabbing. He didn't sit with anyone either. As the quiet table of empty chairs surrounded him, he stared blankly at nothing. Cloud was on his mind and he wasn't sure what to do or say, really.

The loud tone of a high-pitched bell made him jump and he realized that he hadn't eaten anything from his tray. He took a quick bite of the apple and gripped it as he stood up and dumped everything else in the trash. With one toss of the apple into the air and slowly falling into the palm of his hand, he exited the cafeteria and started walking back to class.

* * *

Cloud looked at the book's cover a few times, holding the sides of the book. He let it fall to his side and walked out of the library and back to his class, that wasn't with Zack, something in his mind added. He sighed at the thought and shook his head, stopping dead in tracks when he heard an argument. One of the voices was feminine and very patient while the other was almost demanding. Cloud turned and saw Tiffany standing with Zack's new tutor, Yazoo. She didn't seem to mind that Yazoo was basically throwing insults in her face and replied her famous, mother-soothing voice that Cloud had grown accustomed to.

"I don't know how _anyone_ can put up with him," Yazoo said.

Tiffany just nodded. "I understand what you're saying but it's only been of a day. At least _try_ dealing with him for the rest of the week." Cloud's heart sunk when he knew that they were talking about Zack.

Yazoo shook his head. Apparently, he wasn't satisfied with the response he had gotten. "There has to be someone that's the next smartest in my class. Who is it?"

Tiffany sighed. "Aerith is," she said and walking away from the silver-haired teen.

Cloud swallowed and slowly started walking back to his class. His chest tightened when he saw Zack walking to his class, eating an apple. The sight made a small smile spread across his face. Zack looked so cute with the apple hanging from his teeth, juice leaking out of the corners of his mouth. If Aerith was going to be his new tutor, then… He couldn't even finish the rest of that sentence. At least she wouldn't be _bored_, but Cloud couldn't remember a time when she ever had been bored.

Zack didn't notice him staring, which was probably a good thing. _Cloud_ didn't even realize that he was starting until the apple fell from Zack's mouth and his hand reacted to catch it. He blushed and looked away, watching some kids pass him. No one looked at him, like always.

"Cloud," a voice said and the blonde looked over to see Yazoo walking up to him. "I have a question before you go back to class. How did you _ever_ put up with Zack?"

Blue eyes went back to the first day that he and Zack met. He had asked him so many questions those first few weeks that it was just so… It was just so…weird. Zack had never been a problem to him. Tiffany had implied the very first day that Zack could be quite a hassle but Cloud never had a problem, at all. Why was that? All of a sudden, Zack wasn't cooperating with Yazoo. Why was _that_? Cloud could give Zack an excuse for not liking Yazoo, but was that really why he wasn't cooperating? Cloud didn't know. He wasn't sure. It seemed that the only thing he didn't quite understand was _Zack._

Cloud shook his head, looking back at Yazoo. "I don't know what you mean. I didn't have any problems with Zack."

Yazoo sighed. "Of course you didn't."

Something occurred in Cloud's mind and he walked to the office. The attendance lady wasn't there, probably on her lunch hour, but the nurse was. She was sitting at the desk looking something up on the computer. Cloud didn't pay much attention to her because Tiffany had walked out of her office. She stopped when she saw Cloud and gave him a confused look. Cloud gave an awkward smile towards her and it was then that the nurse noticed that he had been standing there. She gave him a sweet smile as Tiffany walked over to him.

"Did you need something Cloud?"

Cloud shrugged, looking for the right words. "I…was just wondering how Zack's doing…with his grades," he added Zack's grades quickly.

Tiffany smiled and motioned for him to follow her to her office. She lifted her hand to one of the chairs and continued to smiled at him as she took her own seat at her desk. Cloud sat down, feeling rather uncomfortable at the moment. Why was he feeling uneasy all of a sudden? Tiffany typed something on her computer and brought her hand to the mouse, moving it around the soft pad that had bubbles on it. After a while, she typed a few more things until she looked back at Cloud with a motherly look.

"Cloud, I know you'd probably wonder _how_ this has happened but Zack's grades have dropped since you stopped helping him."

Pain shot in Cloud's heart. "Yazoo's having trouble with him, isn't he?"

Tiffany nodded slowly and folded her hands on the desk. "I'm afraid so," she said with a sigh. "I don't know what it is. His counselor said that he didn't say much yesterday at their meeting. I…think I know what the problem is but he might want to tell you personally." She looked down at her fingernails and back up at Cloud. "Zack has…grown to you, Cloud. I don't know if that's the best way to describe it but I hope you know what I mean." Cloud nodded. "Okay. And as his aunt and principal, I'm worried about him. He hasn't been like this since…Angeal, I think, when he left."

Cloud shifted in his seat. "Does Zack really need to see a counselor because of his parents?" Cloud asked, looking at the floor.

Tiffany shrugged. "I'm not sure. Honestly, I don't think that it's helping him." She shook her head. "Zack doesn't need someone to counsel him," she said, sounding more like a mother than an aunt. "The counselor at this school suggested the idea after talking to him. I'm ready to pull him out of it because I think that this has just made things worst."

Even though he had told his heart that he didn't love Zack anymore, it didn't listen. He still loved Zack and it hurt to know that Zack had to see a counselor because of his parents. Was it really that bad? Cloud had never experienced anything like this with family or friends and he didn't know what that was like.

"When will Zack turn eighteen?" Cloud asked, swallowing. He'd never asked Zack when his birthday was. He just thought that Zack would've told him if he really wanted him to know when his birthday was. The thought really never occurred to him.

"His birthday is in April," Tiffany said. "But I'm going to ask him sometime if he still wants to continue with his counseling or if he feels like he doesn't need it." Cloud felt his body go numb. "If you could, would you try talking to him? He just seems…lonely lately."

_Zack's lonely, since when? I figured he's ask that_ somebody_ out by now._ Cloud choked down a bubble that was rising in his throat and nodded. "I'll…try."

* * *

That night, he was left alone by himself as his father was on a date with Rick. Cloud listened to the soft whispers of the wind whistling against his window. He was sitting at his desk writing notes and listening to the CD that his dad had gotten him for Christmas. He stared at his half page of notes and sighed in disappointment. He had been hoping that he'd at least get _half_ of his _notes_ done, but the music reminded him of Zack. He didn't want to admit it but he was starting to worry about the older teen.

He shook his head and shut the music off and continued to try and get his notes done. It was impossible though because even the silence of his room could not help him concentrate. Cloud lifted his elbows onto his desk and buried his face in his hands, rubbing the sides of his forehead. Questions kept running through his mind and it was starting to give him quite a headache. It didn't seem that he could do anything. His mind was too focused on Zack.

Cloud groaned softly. "Why do I have to love him?" he asked himself out loud. But that was a question that not even he could answer. He doubted that his father knew the answer either.

_How do you get someone off of your mind? How do you stop loving someone?_

Did he really want to stop thinking about Zack? Did he really want to stop loving Zack? His mind told him that yes, he did. His heart said no, that he _couldn't_. Stupid heart was taking over and controlling his body and emotions. It was hard to not think about Zack and even harder to not love him. But now that he thought of it, he didn't remember seeing himself fall in love with someone like most kids his age did. He never really saw himself with _anyone_. Tifa had teased that he would marry Aerith because of their proximity together but that was as far as it got.

And then _he_ came into his life. _He_ had changed everything. Emotions came in and his heart started to beat rapidly more than he could ever remember. The last time he had really felt his heart beat quickly was when he and Tifa had broke his dad's reading lamp. But this situation was more than just breaking a _little reading lamp_, and his dad hadn't really minded about it anyway. But this, _this_ was something more extreme and emotional. This was him falling in love with, no doubt, one of the most gorgeous guys in the whole school. The only thing that bugged him was that Zack would be asking someone _else_, not him, out to be his girlfriend _or boyfriend_. This was Cloud trying to compel himself not to think about the one person he had fallen for.

He had been stuck watching those romantic chick flicks with Tifa and Aerith and he had _seen_ someone in the movie experience what he was going through right now. One of the lovers always did something to make the other lover fall for them and always did something to win them over someone. But as far as Cloud knew, Zack didn't love him (like that, at least) and no one was trying to fight Zack for him. The closest thing that had come to _fight_ was when Zack beat up Seifer at the mall. Yeah, that had happened in the 'flicks he's seen with the two girls but those were _movies_. Movie storylines didn't exist unless they were one of those 'based on a true story's'.

After a while he gave up on his notes and decided to go to bed. He left the book open along with his notebook, hoping that maybe it would help him think more somewhere about _his notes_. But when his body touched the mattress, he turned in every direction and even folded his pillow different ways. He couldn't sleep and he knew _why_.

Zack…

He was thinking about him again. He was _always _thinking about him. He had to stop. It was starting to get in the way of things, like his sleep. But every time he closed his eyes, he saw Zack's beautiful smile and dazzling eyes. It couldn't be helped but that was how love worked, right? He just couldn't ignore it, could he? It was right _there_ in his face and it seemed like it was starting to make fun of him.

But with a sigh, Cloud turned on his left side and closed his eyes. Even though Zack's gorgeous features appeared in his head, he didn't open his eyes. He imagined that Zack was right there with him. Sleep soon hit him and he started to dream about Zack. In his dream, Zack loved _him_. Zack would hold his hand and swing it with his while they walked in the hallways, not caring who saw or whispered. The older teen would hold him close when he wasn't feeling right and would hug him in a tight embrace when he needed it, or didn't need it. It didn't matter which one it was. It just felt good, and right, to be in Zack's warm arms. And Zack would whisper _I love you_ against his lips before he leaned in and kissed him.

Cloud smiled in his sleep. He knew he probably sounded like a teenager girl drooling over the hottest guy in school, but he was a teenage _boy_ falling for the most gorgeous guy in his school.

By the time his dad came home, he was already asleep. Steve went to check up on Cloud and smiled to himself when he saw this and turned off the light that had been left on.

* * *

So, yeah, Cloud's having an emotional teen girl moment. And these are my replies to your reviews.

To Half of you : HOLD ON, IT'S ALMOST THERE. THEY'RE BE TOGETHER SOON, I PROMISE.

And to individuals - No, I do not plan on doing something bad to Zack. And yes, I am only updating once a week or something like that because if I updated all my chapters written now, no one would leave me reviews...  
This is how I assumed Zack would put the pieces together that Squall was to blame. Cloud had been waiting outside with Squall and everything was fine and dandy until afterwards...

So...I came up with this fanfic about Zack and Cloud that I think would be funny but I'm not sure whether to make it a one-shot or have a few chapters to go along with it because with the way it's going, it's kind of long. And I still have to include all the funny parts. Ideas?

Please review, I don't know what you're thinking unless you tell me. And I don't know what else to add about this chapter, except that Yazoo's an idiot.

Oh yeah, Cloud's not emo...


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Friday morning, Zack stopped by Cloud's locker but the blonde wasn't there. Was he late to school? No, he couldn't be. Zack couldn't remember a time when Cloud was ever late for anything. He sighed. He had built up enough courage when he woke up to actually tell Cloud his feelings and Cloud wasn't there. Zack looked around the hallway, hoping to see a familiar blonde. But no one around was who he was looking for. Zack was about to let out another sigh when Aerith walked past him and smile with a short wave. A thought hit him in the head and he called out the girl's name, making her stop and turn to look at him.

"Do you know where Cloud is?" he asked, hoping that she did. Aerith was Cloud's best friend after all.

Aerith looked down at the, quite heavy, books in her arms and then back up at Zack. "He told me that he was sick," she said, her smile fading. "He stayed home from school yesterday, too."

Zack felt his heart sink. Cloud never missed school. He was never sick. And then he thought of Cloud's confession in the bathroom. Zack's stomach flip-flopped. There was something wrong with Cloud and he knew that he had to be the one to fix it. Zack looked back at Aerith and saw the girl looking down, shifting her books in her arms.

"I can carry those for you," he said, holding out his hands.

Aerith smiled and handed Zack her books. They started walking to Aerith's class as the warning bell rang. Zack shook his head to himself, knowing that he was the reason Cloud was so upset. It made his chest ache because he had said that he would pound any person that hurt the blonde. He was now one of those people, though.

"Zack," Aerith said as they came to her class, "I probably shouldn't tell you this, because I promised Cloud I wouldn't, but I'm really worried about him. Zack, Cloud's in love with you, pretty bad too."

"I know," Zack said, sighing. "I overhead him say it earlier this week. Actually, the truth is," he took a big breath, "I've fallen for him."

Another smile appeared on Aerith's face and she nodded. "I know, Lulu told me that you did but to not say anything to Cloud about it." As the girl walked into her class, Zack thought of how Lulu told him that _he_ had to tell Cloud, not someone else.

* * *

When Cloud had woken up Thursday morning, he asked his dad if he could miss school. Realizing that his fantasy had been nothing but a dream and would always stay that way, he felt his heart being crushed. Steve saw this and let him stay home, asking him this morning if he wanted to stay home again. He stayed in his room most of the time, only leaving to get something to drink or when the bathroom seemed like a heavenly place. It didn't really matter that he had missed yesterday and today because he'd still have to face Zack Monday-and all of those other days.

He tried to write the rest of his notes down but kept getting distracted and would start spacing out every now and then. Things didn't just stop there either. He would often think about what Zack was doing. He would wonder if Zack was doing any better in his classes. His fantasy came back a few times but he pushed them away as if they were the worst drug that ever existed.

Steve sat on the couch, looking for a good movie to watch that would be on TV. As he was in the process of flipping through channels, a knock came from the door. He stood up from his seat and walked over to the door, opening it to see Zack holding a backpack on his shoulder. Zack gave him a small smile and waved. Steve smiled back.

"Is Cloud home?" Zack asked. He really did hope that he was. Then again, where else would the blonde be if he had missed school?

Steve nodded. "Yeah, he's in his room." He pointed to Zack's backpack. "I take it that things aren't going well with your new tutor."

Zack shifted the bag on his shoulder. "Not really," he said as Steve stood aside for Zack to come in. "I was kind of hoping that Cloud wouldn't mind. I…have to talk to him about some…things."

Steve shut the door and turned to look at Zack. "I shouldn't tell you this, but Cloud loves you."

A sigh and nod came from Zack. "I know, everyone's been telling me that today. I'm…I love him just as much," he said, looking down at the floor. "That's really why I wanted to come over but I…needed some _excuse_ to." Zack looked at his backpack slouching from his left shoulder.

"I understand," Steve said. "Cloud's in his room."

Zack turned and walked the somewhat familiar path to Cloud's bedroom. He had only been in the teen's room a few times but he still remembered how to get there pretty well. It wasn't like it was hard to get lost in the house or anything. And when Zack came to the door, he let out a big breath before raising his hand and knocking on the soft wood. A few seconds later, the door opened and Zack saw Cloud's cute baby face. His heart dropped and he almost choked on the air he was breathing until Cloud gave him that confused look.

"Is it okay if I come in?" Zack asked, showing his backpack to Cloud.

The blonde swallowed and gave a short nod, letting Zack in. Zack sat at Cloud's desk, dropping his back to the floor and unzipping the top, pulling out a textbook. "Zack," Cloud started and Zack turned to look at the blonde.

"I won't bug you unless I _really_ need something. Okay?" he asked and Cloud nodded.

With that, he opened his textbook to a piece of writing paper that had been marking the page. He looked in his backpack for a pencil but didn't find one. Cloud sat next to Zack and handed him one of the pencils that lay neatly on the desk. The whole time Zack would write, erase, and then rewrite something on his paper, Cloud couldn't help but watch him. He was so…cute. Cloud looked away whenever Zack would look in his direction. A few times he would stare at the picture of his mom and dad that sat nicely on the hard wood. A lot of people said that he looked like his dad, but most that knew his mother, or saw pictures of her, said that he favored her more. Cloud stared at the young woman's face and in his head, he asked her for advice.

After about a half hour or more, everything started to build up in Cloud and he just wanted to burst. Zack looked at him and watched his emotions change until he looked like he was about to cry. He put his hand on Cloud's, hoping that the blonde wouldn't mind. To his relief, Cloud didn't pull away, but he didn't look back at Zack either. They stayed like that for some time until Cloud stood up. He was about to leave his room until Zack caught him by the wrist, pulling him back. Cloud looked back at Zack as the older teen stood up.

"Cloud, I need to tell you something."

Cloud shook his head. "No, _I_ have to tell you something." Zack's eyes reflected on Cloud's. "Zack," Cloud swallowed and looked away from Zack. "I…Zack, I love you." Now that he had actually said it (to Zack), his heart sunk into relief and another thing that he couldn't describe. "You probably think I'm an idiot but…I can't help it. I just…I…"

Zack shushed Cloud by pulling him into a tight embrace. At first, Cloud didn't react but when Zack's soft hands touched his hair, he wrapped his arms around Zack's waist. Zack breathed into Cloud's golden locks. Cloud put his head on Zack's chest, just below his chin. His hot heavy breathing bounced back into his face from Zack's shirt.

"You're not an idiot, Cloud. The reason I came over was to tell you that…I love you, too."

Cloud's eyes widened and he looked up at Zack. Was he dreaming? He really hoped not but every time something like this seemed real, he would wake up and realize that it was nothing but a dream. Zack stared back at him, his eyes making Cloud feel dizzy.

"Zack…"

Zack held Cloud tighter. "You're not dreaming, Chocobo. I promise," he said, as if he knew what Cloud was thinking.

Cloud sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head against Zack's chest. Zack rubbed the teen's back, sighing to himself. After a moment, Cloud looked back up at him. Zack felt the urge to lean forward and kiss the blonde but he stopped himself from doing so.

"W-what do we do now?" Cloud asked, feeling his face heat up. He felt stupid for asking Zack that question but he didn't know. He wasn't sure what they should do.

Zack thought for a moment and he smiled at Cloud. "Does this mean you'll go out with me?"

Cloud's lips parted and he looked at Zack with wide eyes. "You mean…you were going to ask…" Zack nodded, smiling more. Cloud blushed, looking down.

"That's a yes, right?" Zack asked and Cloud nodded, not able to look at Zack or _say_ anything to Zack. Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's forehead. Cloud wanted him to kiss somewhere else though. He looked up at his boyfriend with questioning eyes. "What?" Zack asked.

Cloud blushed. "N-nothing," he quickly said, looking away.

Zack put his hands on Cloud's cheeks and made the blonde look at him. Cloud blushed again and Zack only smiled. "You know you're cute when you blush," he said and gently brought his lips to Cloud's.

Cloud's mind stopped working as Zack's lips moved against his. His heart started racing and his body temperature started to rise. It felt like his skin was going to burst into flames. Zack lowered his arms until they locked around Cloud's waist, pulling him closer. Cloud's eyes fluttered close and his arms moved up to wrap around Zack's neck. He did his best to participate as much as possible in the kiss but after a while he just let Zack take over. Zack's lips would move over his softly, gently nipping at the chapped skin.

When Zack pulled away, he saw that Cloud's face was bright red and smiled. He pulled him close again and sighed. Cloud closed his eyes and put his head on his shoulder. It wasn't too long after this that Zack looked back at him. "Tired?" he asked and Cloud nodded. They moved over to Cloud's bed and laid on it together. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist, pulling him close so that he was laying on him. He ran his hand through Cloud's blonde hair, smiling. He gave Cloud another kiss on the lips and the blonde fell asleep.

* * *

Zack woke up and looked down at the blonde in his arms. He smiled to himself and leaned forward to kiss Cloud's forehead. His lips gently brushed against Cloud's skin and he pulled back as Cloud took a deep breath in his sleep. Zack combed his fingers through the blonde's hair, admiring how peaceful he looked when he slept. Cloud made a soft sighing sound and shifted a bit so that his hands were now above his head. He looked so cute when he slept. Zack smiled softly and rested against the pillow, closing his eyes. He didn't try to fall asleep because he knew that it was probably impossible to. Images of the blonde came to his mind and he smiled softly. He had waited for a long time to just hold the blonde in his arms like this. Now that it was finally happening, he didn't know what to think. There wasn't doubt or regret but just a happy feeling inside him.

Cloud was his, his boyfriend. He'd longed to call the blonde that instead of just a friend. He loved Cloud. His heart was set on the beautiful blonde, no one else. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud a little tighter and gave him a gentle squeeze. Cloud made a soft squeaking sound and turned his head but didn't wake up. Zack opened his eyes again and kissed Cloud's nose. He couldn't get enough of the blonde. He was like a little dose of pure happiness and love. Zack just wanted him again and again.

The blonde's eyes opened very slowly, trying to adjust to the light coming in his room from the window. He felt breathing that wasn't his own underneath him and looked up to see Zack's smile shooting at him. Remembering what had happened the previous night, he blushed a bit and wrapped his arms around Zack's neck. It hadn't been a dream last night. He smiled to himself and scooted closer to Zack.

"Hey you," Zack said, leaning down to kiss Cloud's lips. Cloud closed his eyes and kissed back. His heart seemed to flutter at the touch. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, rubbing Cloud's back.

Cloud sighed. "Yeah," he said. He looked at Zack and smiled. Zack smiled back and his heart did that little leaping thing it usually did whenever Zack was around. He took a quick glance at the clock and back at Zack. "I guess it's a good thing that we don't have school today."

Zack looked over at the digital clock and saw that it was just a little over ten o'clock. He kissed Cloud's lips and nodded. "Guess so," he muttered. His hand moved up to Cloud's hair and began to gently tangle his fingers in the locks. Cloud put his head on Zack's chest, loving the way Zack's fingers felt on his head.

After this continued for quite some time, Cloud sighed and turned his head upward towards Zack. Every time he did look at Zack, the teen would kiss him. He loved the feeling of Zack's lips touching his. But the minutes started to pass by and Cloud knew that eventually this would have to come to an end. "Zack," Cloud said. Zack looked down at him and put his hand on the side of Cloud's cheek. "We should probably get up."

As much as Zack didn't want to, he knew that Cloud was right. He was sure that Rick and Tiffany were wondering (or worrying) about him, no doubt about that. He hadn't really planned what would happen between him and Cloud. Then again, maybe they weren't worrying about him. He _had_ told them that he was going over to Cloud's. He _had_ told Rick, not Tiffany (definitely not Tiffany, this was guy stuff), that he was going to try and fix things with the blonde. So both of them _had_ to know that he wasn't out wandering the streets, getting mugged, or whatever it was most non-parents thought that their teens did.

"Yeah, you're right," Zack said, watching as Cloud got off of him and stood at the edge of the bed. He sat up on the bed and shook his head, running a hand through his hair and standing next to Cloud. The blonde's eyes were distracted by something in his room and Zack took the opportunity to wrap his arm around the blonde's waist and pull him towards him. Cloud let out a small peeping sound as Zack's arms wrapped around him for a hug and kissed the soft, middle of his cheek. Zack pulled back and looked at him with a grin on his face. "I told you that you're a chocobo," Zack said, referring to Cloud's small peep.

Cloud blushed and hid his face in Zack's shirt. Zack just laughed and held him closer to him. When Cloud looked up at him, Zack leaned down to kiss him again on the lips. "I think you're addicted to kissing," Cloud said after they pulled away. Zack only smiled at him and ruffled his hair. He took Cloud's hand and they stared at Cloud's bedroom door. "How should I tell my dad about this?"

Zack squeezed Cloud's hand and lifted his free hand to brush a strand of blonde hair out of Cloud's face. "Just tell him, he'll understand." At least, Zack hoped that he would. The way that Tiffany and Rick, especially Rick, had been describing him, he really wanted Cloud to be with someone that could make him happy. Zack wanted to be able to make Cloud feel happy.

The blonde took a deep breath and started walking to his door, opening and letting go of Zack's hand so they didn't squish each other in the doorway. Zack followed behind him into the living room. Steve was sitting in the recliner, holding a coffee mug by the handle in one hand and the remote to the television in the other. He looked up when Zack and Cloud walked into the room and gave them a soft smile.

"I called Tiffany last night and told her that you were here, Zack. It seemed that you decided to stay the night?" he asked, making Cloud's throat tighten and Zack nod, mumbling a 'yeah'. "Cloud," Steve asked, looking directly at Cloud.

Cloud blushed and looked down. He made a soft sound in his throat and looked at his dad. He knew that he wasn't mad about Zack's sudden sleepover, but he did want to know one thing. Cloud wasn't sure how to say it though. _"Just tell him, he'll understand,"_ Zack's voice rung in his ears. He took a deep breath and sighed, letting out all the air in his chest. "Zack and I…are...we're…" Damn, he lost the words that he wanted to say.

Zack shook his head and chuckled at Cloud's stammering. He wrapped his arm around the blonde's shoulder and pulled him close. "We're together," Zack finished for him and Cloud gave a shy smile.

Steve smiled at Cloud and shook his head. He stood up, setting his mug and the remote on the coffee table. "Would you boys like some breakfast?" he asked, walking towards the kitchen. Cloud nodded slowly when his dad looked at him. "Zack," Steve asked, looking at the older teen.

"Yeah, sure," Zack said, watching Steve walk into the kitchen. He looked down at the blonde that he still had his arm wrapped around. "See, there was nothing to worry about." Cloud smiled and gave a slow nod, his face brightening up towards Zack. Zack wrapped his other arm around Cloud and hugged him, swaying back and forth a bit. "Oh, Cloud I love you. You don't know how long I've wanted to hold you like this."

Cloud made a soft, low humming sigh sound. His heart sunk in his chest and he smiled against Zack's shirt. He loved that Zack was his boyfriend, especially the part that he was _his_ boyfriend. He loved Zack. His eyes closed as they continued to sway with each other. They went back and forth with each other, back and forth. Cloud made another humming sound in his throat and looked up at Zack. "I love you," he said.

Zack grinned and put his forehead against Cloud's, brushing their noses together. "I love you too, Cloud." Zack gave him a quick kiss. They stayed like that for a while, just with their foreheads touching.

When Steve came back into the room, he saw the two and their proximity. He shook his head and smiled to himself. "As soon as you two lovebirds are done fantasizing over each other," he said, causing Cloud and Zack to look up, "there's breakfast on the table." He walked back into the kitchen, leaving a speechless Zack and a blushing Cloud.

Zack blinked and looked at Cloud, noticing the tint of red in the blonde's cheeks. He gave him an awkward smile and took Cloud's hand in his own. Together they walked into the kitchen and sat beside each other at the table.

* * *

X3

Is everyone happy? because...THERE IT IS! lol :)  
I bet a lot of you are looking at your computer screens and jumping up and down going YAY YAY!  
But just because they're together now, don't stop with the reviews! PLEASE!  
Oh...and...NO, I don't want to spoil it for ya'lls.

(Now you guys will be asking me when are they going to have sex, huh?) hehe, a lot of you readers out there like that stuff X3.

Thank you for all the reviews. I can't remember all of them but each one made my day when I opened my inbox. Hopefully this made all of you happy when you opened YOUR inbox and saw that there was a new chapter.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter Nineteen**

It seemed that now they were together, they didn't want to be apart from each other at all. Cloud asked Zack if that was what love was supposed to feel like and then felt embarrassed when he realized what he had just asked. Zack didn't seem to notice or mind, maybe both, and told him that it was how they'd feel for quite a bit. Cloud didn't want to feel like he was being one of those possessive, obsessed girlfriends that he saw in the halls at school. They were always wrapping their arms tightly around their boyfriends' neck that it seemed that if they held on any tighter the guy's head would fall off. And for some reason, Cloud found himself talking to Aerith about the situation on Monday.

"Just about everyone in a relationship acts that way, Cloud. It's just how things are. Don't worry, it'll probably be like this just for a while because you guys are just starting to date," Aerith said.

"Thanks Aerith," Cloud said, holding tighter onto his books at his side. They were standing at Aerith's locker as Aerith was giving Cloud advice and letting him in on some things he should know about starting a new relationship. Cloud had rolled his eyes, when Aerith wasn't looking. It sounded like one of those books that some people wasted their time on, especially when it's about relationships and your kids. Still, he was new with this whole dating thing but buying that kind of book, or checking it out at the library, would be pretty awkward.

"It's okay," she said, adding a folder to her stack of books and notebooks. "So, are you tutoring Zack again?" Cloud nodded. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

Cloud smiled a little and looked down at the floor and then back up at Aerith. "I asked Tiffany the same thing and she said that she insists that I do, as it seems that Zack won't cooperate with anyone else."

"Oh, I'm sure he would if _you_ were there with him," she said, laughing a bit. Cloud smiled again and shook his head. "Tiffany's the name of our principal, right?"

"Yeah," Cloud said.

"I thought so," Aerith said. "Isn't she Zack's aunt but no one's supposed to really know?"

Cloud looked back at her and nodded slowly. "Y-yeah, how did you…"

"She talked to me Friday. She said some things like how Yazoo wasn't doing so well with tutoring Zack and that I might be his new tutor if nothing worked out between you two. But just sitting in her office and studying the way she looked and reacted to things reminded me of Zack. Why doesn't her nameplate and everywhere else say 'Fair'?"

Cloud struggled back to the first time he and Tiffany talked, and all the other times he had talked to her. He remembered that she'd told him a few times that she was the sister of Zack's dad. "I think she changed her name either because of something that happened in their family or because of Zack."

Aerith nodded. "Oh, I see." The warning bell toned off and everyone in the hallway started running or speed walking to their classes. Aerith waved at Cloud and shut her locker, locking the lock. "Well, make sure that Zack behaves," she said teasingly, smiling.

Cloud smiled back. "I will."

* * *

In class, however, Zack started to do good until Cloud started looking at him. Zack looked over at Cloud to see the blonde's reaction to when he wrote down an answer on his worksheet. Cloud wasn't paying attention to the piece of paper, though. His eyes were on Zack. Zack's eyes immediately went to Cloud's as they sat across from each other and he distracted himself with the immense color of the blonde's eyes. Cloud jumped a little when he saw Zack looking back at him and blushed as he realized that he'd been staring at his boyfriend.

"Sorry," Cloud muttered, looking down. Zack, however, reached out and lifted his chin with his finger.

"It's okay," Zack said, smiling at his boyfriend. "I guess I got distracted by your eyes. They're just so beautiful."

Cloud blushed again and smiled at Zack. Zack stood up and leaned over the desk, giving Cloud a brief kiss on the cheek and sitting back down. "How long have you wanted to do that?" Cloud asked as Zack's butt hit the chair.

Zack pursed his lips in thought, looking up at the ceiling. "What do you mean?" he asked, looking back at Cloud. "How long have I wanted to kiss you?" Cloud nodded, putting his elbow on the desk and resting his chin in his palm. "I don't know, quite a while."

A smiled crossed over Cloud's face. "I felt the same way too whenever you'd look at me like that. I think I even had a dream that you were kissing me once," Cloud admitted, blushing.

This just made Zack's face brighten and he smiled at Cloud. "Aw, you dream about me? I hope I was a good kisser in your dream," he teased, making Cloud's face redden more.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, you were." He couldn't help but blush again as he smiled at Zack.

Time passed by slower than it usually did. Cloud thought that it was because he was actually with Zack now. He didn't mind though. It was either the puppy love talking, or his heart, but he wanted to be with Zack forever. Although, he didn't really want to say this to anyone yet since he and Zack had just started dating a couple of days ago. They knew each other well enough, though. Maybe not enough as Cloud thought but they still knew each other quite well. And even though Cloud didn't care who knew that he and Zack were together, he was still to bashful to really do anything in public.

As lunch started, Zack held out his hand to Cloud and the blonde took a deep breath, telling himself that he could do this. No one at school really looked at who was holding hands unless those hands were swinging or that person was looking down. Cloud's hand slipped into Zack's and the older teen gripped his hand in his own for a moment before they walked out of the classroom together. Cloud looked down at their hands lightly swinging back and forth. Zack's skin was so much darker than his that it made him blush at the thought. And because they weren't swinging their hands, no one really paid attention to them. One girl that Cloud recognized, who was in one of Tifa's classes, smiled at them and winked at Cloud. This just made the blonde blush even more than what he already was.

A boy had his girlfriend against a set of lockers, his hands running lightly up and down her waist as her fingers locked behind his neck. He leaned down and kissed her once and again with his tongue. When Cloud realized what he had just seen, he felt embarrassed. Sure, he had seen it before but it was different now that Zack was his boyfriend. Seeing students at his school acting like this made him look over at Zack and wonder if _they_ would ever be like that.

Zack caught onto Cloud looking at him and looked back at the blonde, smiling at him as they entered the cafeteria. They walked over to the lunch line, which was pretty long, and continued to hold each other's hand. Cloud was still studying Zack, still wondering if they would be that lovesick with each other. But before Friday, those past few weeks (maybe months, he couldn't remember), he'd been lovesick enough.

"Hey Cloud," Cloud snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Zack, "what're you thinking?"

He shrugged. "Just stuff," he said, looking down and blushing a bit.

Zack shook his head but there was a smile on his face. "What kind of stuff?" Cloud bit his lip, wondering if he should tell Zack what he _really_ was thinking. "Don't lie to me Cloud, you know you can't." A sigh came from the blonde, his eyes closing. Zack turned so that he was standing in front of Cloud. "Cloud, don't make me kiss you right here in front of everybody."

Cloud's head snapped up to look at Zack. His eyes were wide and his cheeks were turning a bright shade of red. Would Zack really do that? By the look on his face, Cloud could tell that he wouldn't hesitate to. He made a low groaning sound that sounded more like a whimper. "Fine," he said, looking down but Zack caught his chin in his hand and forced him to look at him. "I was just wondering if we'd ever be one of those lovesick couples that make-out in the halls," Cloud muttered, blushing and letting his body fall into Zack's chest.

Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's shoulders and chuckled. He lightly kissed the top of the blonde's hair and pulled him back to look at him. Cloud's cheeks were really red now. "Only if you want to, Chocobo," he said.

After a while, Zack was at Cloud's side again with one arm still around his boyfriend's shoulders. The line had decreased since the past few minutes but it felt like hours to Cloud. Zack didn't care, though. To him, this was more of an opportunity to be close to Cloud like this until they had to go sit down and eat. He looked over at the blonde and saw him looking down at the floor, probably still too embarrassed to really look up at anything or anyone. And if anyone didn't think that things could get worst for the blonde, they were wrong.

"Hey Cloud," a high male voice said. The two turned to see Zell running up towards them. Zack's arm fell to his side and Cloud tried his best to stop blushing, but that was uncontrollable. "Whoa, man, you're face is really red, ya? Okay Zack, what'd you do to him?"

Zack just looked at Zell. "What do you mean what did I do to him? I didn't _do_ anything."

Zell rolled his eyes. "Oh sure you didn't, like I'm going to believe you." Zell turned his attention to Cloud like he was a little kid. "Okay Cloud, you can tell me what Zack did to ya," Zell said.

Cloud just shook his head and rolled his eyes at Zell. The older blonde sounded like one of those counselors or lawyers that asked little kids where so-and-so touched them, and always ended up giving the little kid a doll to have them point. "It's nothing Zell," he said.

Zell shrugged. "Whatever you say Cloud," the blonde said. He walked away from the two and Zack just shook his head, looking at Cloud.

"C'mon," he said, "let's get you something," Zack finished, picking up a tray. Cloud only nodded and followed Zack.

* * *

Zack had somehow managed to arrange a date with Cloud for Friday and was happy that he had done so. He didn't know where he was going to take the blonde and he didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to be with Cloud. But different places kept coming into his head and then out and back in again. Already he had pushed the movies out of the way. He didn't understand how anyone would want to go to the movies for a date. They couldn't talk or have any social time unless it was before or after the movie and the only contact they'd have is if they were making out in the corner of the back row or holding hands while the movie was going on. Yeah, the movie was definitely out of the question.

He didn't really want to ask Cloud either because he didn't want Cloud to feel pressured because he had to choose where to go on a date. His _first_ date, Zack might as well mention. Then that thought hit Zack in the head. This was Cloud's _first date_ that he'd ever been on with _anybody_. _He_, Zack Fair, was the first person that Cloud had kissed and would go out on a date with. Deep down in Zack's chest, he hoped that he'd be first for more than just a few things. And if he didn't act like a total butthead and screw things up, everything would be okay and there'd be a possibility that he'd be Cloud's only one. His heart throbbed at the idea. Since this _was_ the blonde's first date, Zack told himself that it had to be special for Cloud. It couldn't be just something that could be thrown down and done. What's done is done, and there's no changing that. Zack wanted this to be just right for his boyfriend.

Thinking on your bed and looking up at the ceiling, though, usually makes you wonder about more than just that one thing at a time; then you start thinking about the all sorts of things the moment your back hits the mattress. Many thoughts tumbled into Zack's head. Most of them were about Cloud, others were just random things like a chocobo dancing in his head. A smile crept on his face as he thought that that chocobo could be Cloud and he thought of how the blonde would probably hit him if he knew what he was thinking. Well, it was a good thing that Cloud wasn't able to read minds the way Lulu did, or seemed to at least.

What if he could take Cloud on a chocobo ride? Oh yeah, it was still winter out so that idea was crossed off. Taking a walk anywhere or anything that had to do with outdoors would just be crossed off as well. There was no point in even thinking about skating. Zack smiled at the memory of teaching Cloud how to skate. He shook his head. Going out somewhere to eat wouldn't really be special, either. Why did this have to be so hard to decide?

But by the time Friday did come, Zack confessed to Cloud that he didn't know where they could go. In the school parking lot, Cloud looked up at his boyfriend with a smile and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. Kissing Zack on the cheek in public had become easier than he thought it would be. Zack sighed at the touch of Cloud's lips on his cheek and smiled back at the blonde.

"Sorry," he said, walking over to the driver's side. They both got into the car and Cloud took Zack's hand in his the moment they were sitting in their seats and the doors were shut.

"You don't have to be sorry," Cloud said, smiling. "Zack, we don't have to go anywhere special if that's what you're thinking."

Zack sighed and put the back of his head against the seat, turning to look at Cloud. "Cloud, this is your first date."

"I know," Cloud said. "But Zack, this is my first _date_, not the first time I have sex. Zack, just being with you is good enough."

Zack hesitated. "Yeah, but…"

To shut his boyfriend up, Cloud framed Zack's face between his hands and leaned forward to kiss him on the lips. Yeah, kissing was definitely getting easier, he thought to himself as their lips moved together. When he pulled away, he looked at Zack to see his reaction. Zack just shook his head and gave Cloud a smile. But the smile was forced upon his face and Cloud could see this.

"Zack, would it be okay if I told you where we could go?" Cloud asked sitting back in his seat as Zack started the car. He heard a sigh come from his boyfriend and looked over to see him nod. "Let's go skating," he said.

Zack's head snapped towards his direction. "Cloud, are you sure? I mean, you do remember what happened the last time we went skating?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I remember but this would be just us and no one else around; well, except for the other people there, but our friends wouldn't be there to bug us. And it'd be different because, well, we're together now and…" His cheeks flushed at what he was saying and his face became very hot. "You know what I mean," he finished, looking out the window.

Everything that passed by went through his head in a blur. But he wasn't really paying attention to what was happening out there. He wanted to look over and see Zack's expression to what he had just said, but he was still too embarrassed to do so. Why did he have to sound like such a girl? He winced a little at his own question and forced himself to look at Zack. His boyfriend wasn't really paying attention to him, but the road in front of him. When they pulled up to Cloud's house, Zack looked over at the blonde and smiled at him as he was looking back.

"You're sure that's what you want to do, Cloud?" Zack asked, reaching his hand over and holding Cloud's tightly.

Cloud looked down at their hands and shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. If not then we can just think of somewhere else to go."

Zack smiled and leaned over in his seat a bit to kiss Cloud. Cloud kissed back, his eyes closing and his heart fluttering up and down. A sigh escaped his lips when they pulled apart and he smiled at Zack. Zack's smile grew on his face and he gave Cloud a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll pick you up in about two hours," he said. Cloud could only nod as he opened the car door and said bye. "Love you," Zack added as Cloud got out of the car.

"I love you too," Cloud said, his cheeks flushing at the words. He gave Zack a small smile before he shut the car door.

* * *

For a few minutes, Zack just drove them around as they thought of where they could go. Cloud had decided earlier that if they went skating, he'd be falling every little second that passed. The only good thing that came from that was that Zack would get to hold onto him when he did fall. The thought had made him blush again and he swore that if he kept blushing like this his cheeks would catch on fire some day. But after some time, Zack pulled over somewhere and Cloud looked up to see that they were at the park. He looked over at his boyfriend in question, trying to figure out what was going through his head.

Zack looked at Cloud and held out his hand for the blonde's. Cloud took it and Zack gently squeezed his hand. "Cloud, I don't know anywhere we could go," Zack admitted, giving his boyfriend a sorrowful look.

Cloud shook his head. "This is okay," he said, smiling.

"Are you sure?" Zack asked and Cloud nodded. He sighed and shook his head. Cloud leaned over in his seat and kissed Zack on the cheek. Zack looked over at him, a smile crossing his lips. "I love you, Cloud."

"I love you too," Cloud said, his cheeks flushing. He looked down, trying to cover the blush on his cheeks.

Zack caught his chin and made him look up at him. He sighed and smiled at the blonde. "I love seeing you blush," he said, making Cloud's face feel as if it were burning. "I love you, Cloud. I always will." Zack kissed Cloud on the lips softly, his heart aching.

Cloud blushed again. He looked up into those eyes that could make him forget anything and everything all at the same time. "You make me feel special," Cloud said, taking Zack's hand and holding it tightly.

"You are special," Zack replied, squeezing Cloud's hand. "You're my little chocobo." Zack brought Cloud's hand up to his lips and lightly kissed the delicate skin.

"If I'm your chocobo then you have to be my puppy," Cloud said as their hands lowered together. Zack gave him a weird look that made the blonde laugh a little. "What? It's not right if you get to give me a nickname."

Zack shook his head and scooted over in his seat to where he was sitting in the middle next to Cloud. He arranged their tight position to where Cloud was sitting on his lap and buried his face into the blonde locks. "I'll be your puppy, but there is no way that you're nicknaming me that."

Cloud put his head on Zack's shoulder. "That's fine with me," he mumbled, closing his eyes and sighing. Zack's arm wrapped around him and his fingers began to play with his hair, making his eyes flutter open and close. Zack kissed the top of his forehead, letting his lips linger there for a few seconds. His hand moved down to Cloud's back, making soft circles. A small sigh escaped Cloud's lips and he curled closer into Zack's embrace.

* * *

Aww...these two make me forget about the pain...  
What pain? you ask. Well, there's several of them. But I'm not going to list them here so the whole world can see.

I know how Cloud's burning face from blushing so much feels. Recently, I just found out myself do to a "wardrobe" problem in school. Yeah, let's not go there... But the worst part is that my teacher is a GUY. *dies from embarrassment*

Oooh, I just recently finished a Zack and Cloud fanfic that I will be posting soon. There's more information about it on my profile, except for the status (which I really need to fix). Anyway, it's Cinderella related. Guess who's Cinderella? Yuppers, you got it. Our little Cloudy. hehe... I think I will rate this T since there is minor abuse and a slight mention of death at the beginning.  
But I just recently thought of something else for a Zack and Cloud that will be based off of Beauty and the Beast (this story is mocking me). I got most of the characters outlined of who will be who but I'm having trouble deciding who should be Lumiere: Genesis or Reno.  
At first I wrote Genesis because he's a horny little boy. But then I wrote Reno because he's somewhat related to Axel(kingdom hearts character, I talked about him before). So...I'm lost. I would really like Genesis to be Lumiere because I'm making Angeal be Cogsworth (the little clock guy.) I'm also having the same trouble with Chip: Marlene or Denzel. But then I thought, why can't they both be! But...Genesis and Reno both can't be Lumiere because two guys can't be obsessing over Tifa. uugh

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please don't ask because I'm in a major crisis at the moment. BEEP! What?  
Reviews?


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter Twenty**

As the weeks passed, Cloud felt himself growing closer and closer to Zack. His dad and others had teased him because of the way he acted around Zack now that they were together but they did that before then. The only people that didn't tease him were Aerith, Lulu, Yuna, Paine, and Squall. He knew that Paine would never tease him like the way Zell, Rikku, and Yuffie did because she was more mature and Lulu was just the same. Aerith and Yuna wouldn't tease him because they were just too sweet, but both girls would ask questions about Zack or something related to their relationship together. Aerith would once in a while say something about the couple, but she never teased them. He didn't know Squall's reason but figured that it was the same as Lulu and Paine's; he was more mature than everyone else. Tifa, however, bugged the hell out of him. It seemed that now that he was with someone, he had become her ultimate gay-boyfriend. She expected him to go shopping with her, but she did that before, just not as much. Things were only worst with Valentine's Day coming up. It wasn't yet February, but it was close.

"Aerith, you know what I just realized," Tifa said, it wasn't really a question because whether or not anyone wanted to know, she was still going to tell them. "You have never introduced us to your boyfriend. Now that I think about it, you've never really talked about him unless you two are going on a date or anything like that. Seriously, what's he like? I'm dying to know."

It was a typical, boring Saturday and they were sitting in a food court at the mall. Milkshakes of different flavors sat in front of them with straws sticking out of the top, ice cream slowly flowing down the insides of the clear tubes. Cloud was surrounded by Tifa, Aerith, Rikku, Yuna, and Zell as Zack was in the bathroom. Cloud wished that he would've made an excuse to go to the bathroom as well. It wasn't because he wanted to be with Zack, even though he did, but it was anything to get out of the middle of this conversation. But there was no quick escape without telling someone where he was going as he was trapped between Rikku, Zell and the wall to his right.

"C'mon Aerith, what's he like? I don't even think I know his name," Rikku chirped, almost bouncing in her seat. Across from her, Yuna rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling a little.

Cloud gave Aerith a sorrowful look but she just smiled at him and everyone else. She took a deep breath, her chest rising upwards and slowly falling as she exhaled. "I don't really know how to describe him," she said, shifting a little in the booth. "He's kind of quiet and…" she laughed a little, shaking her head. "His name's Vincent," she said.

"Does he go to our school?" Tifa asked, rolling her eyes to the corner of their sockets and looking up at the ceiling in wonderment.

Aerith shook her head. "No, he doesn't go to school. He's twenty-two," she finished, a blush spreading on her cheeks.

"Ooh Aerith, getting funky are we?" Rikku teased, giggling.

At that time, Zack came back and Rikku and Zell got up so that he could sit next to Cloud. Cloud smiled and scooted as close to the wall as possible, putting his elbow on the table and slouching forward to rest his face in his hand to hide the upcoming blush that was about to happen. Zack smashed his right side into Cloud's left, slipping his arm around the blonde's waist. Due to this, and Cloud not wanting Tifa or Rikku to notice, he sat back against the backboard of the booth, making Zack's arm tighten around him. Rikku and Zell squeezed back into the bench next to Zack. With four grown teenagers sitting together, there wasn't that much room so Zell was close to falling to the tiled floor if Rikku kept bouncing up and down.

"What'd I miss?" he asked, looking over at Cloud and giving him the famous smile that made Cloud want to melt.

To his left, Rikku giggled next to him and looked in Aerith's direction. "Aerith was telling us about her boyfriend," she said, giggling more. Aerith blushed, looking down at her milkshake and swirling her straw around the ice cream. She seemed to be rather uncomfortable with the conversation that they were having.

Zack saw this and looked over at Cloud, who was looking down at his hands in his lap. He took this as a good opportunity and leaned close to the blonde, giving him a kiss on the lips. Cloud was surprised by this and blushed when his boyfriend pulled back. He made a soft groaning sound as everyone was looking at him. And right then, everyone left Aerith alone and started to pick on Cloud. Cloud tried to sink into the wall, hoping he would and could disappear. He gave Zack glares for the rest of the hour they were there, poking him hard in the arm when they got up to leave.

"Ouch, what was that for?" Zack asked, rubbing the sore spot on his arm and giving Cloud a pout.

"Why did you do that?" Cloud asked as his face turned red with embarrassment. Zack cocked his to the left, simply confused. "Why did you kiss me like that in front of everyone?"

Zack smiled and wrapped an arm around Cloud's shoulders, pulling him close as they walked out of the restaurant and towards the exit of the mall. "I did that because Aerith was looking rather uncomfortable with the questions being asked about her boyfriend. It just came to me to kiss you right there so everyone would start talking about something else."

Cloud groaned, covering his face with both hands. "Why did you have to make them talk about _me_, though?"

A chuckle escaped from Zack's lips and pulled Cloud's head towards him, kissing his hair. "I couldn't kiss Rikku or Zell, you would've killed me. And it's fun to pick on you because I like to see you blush, it's cute."

"_You_ think it's cute," Cloud groaned, putting his hands down at his sides. Zack just smiled and pulled him tighter, closer to him.

* * *

The first day of February was always rough for Cloud, especially in high school. Everyone around him would talk about rushing to find a date before Valentine's Day so that they wouldn't be alone. For seventeen years, Cloud had shrugged the idea out of his mind. He had ignored it those last years because he wasn't interested. And then, just a few months ago in October, he had met Zack Fair. Back then, he wasn't excited about the holiday because, to him, it was just another meaningless day for everyone to get all jumpy over. But he knew that this year would be different. He didn't know how or why, he just knew that it would. His best guess was that it was because of Zack, because he was with Zack. Zack hadn't mentioned the holiday to him like Tifa or Rikku had, and Cloud did admit that he was a little curious to know what Zack was thinking but he wasn't about to ask.

After school, the two went to Zack's house. The house seemed foreign to Cloud with all the quietness. He wasn't used to this kind of quiet, especially when he was around Zack. Cloud looked over the house and then over at Zack, who was making his way to his room. He followed his boyfriend, still looking around the house.

"Where's Rick?" Cloud asked as they entered Zack's room. Zack let his bag and coat drop to the floor and threw himself on his bed, hands supporting the back of his head. He looked at Cloud and shrugged.

"I'm not sure," he said, scooting over on the bed so that Cloud could sit next to him. Cloud's coat and bag were laid neatly by Zack's as he sat next Zack, leaning back with his arms holding his balance. Cloud looked at his boyfriend. "If he's anywhere it's probably at work or with your dad." Cloud nodded, looking down at the dark blue comforter. He traced a design with the tip of his finger and shaking his head. "That doesn't bother you, does it?" Zack asked, sitting up a little on his elbows.

Cloud looked up at him and shook his head. "No, it doesn't bother me. It's just that I'm…"

Zack sat up and pulled Cloud into his arms. "This is something new for you," Zack finished for him and Cloud nodded against Zack's chest. A blonde strand of hair was pulled away from his eye and a kiss was placed on the side of his head. "It'll be okay," he whispered into Cloud's ear, rubbing his back soothingly.

The blonde sighed against Zack's chest, adoring his heartbeat. Zack let their bodies fall against the bed and he was now practically lying on top of Zack. His head was still resting on his chest but the rest of his body was pressed tight against Zack's side. Zack's arm rested lightly around his shoulders, holding him close. With Zack's free hand, he held onto Cloud's, their hands resting on top of Zack's stomach. After moments passed, Zack had his eyes closed but hadn't fallen asleep. His arm still remained around Cloud and their hands were still together. Cloud had kept his eyes open, tracing his thumb over the top of Zack's hand. Laying here with Zack like this really got him to thinking and when he thought like this, it usually meant that he would end up embarrassing himself somehow.

"Zack," Cloud whispered. Zack answered with a soft 'Hm?' not opening his eyes. "I was just wondering…" he bit his lip, trying to find the right words before he shook his head and sighed. "Never mind," he finished.

This caused Zack to look up at him with concern written all over his face. "Cloud?" he asked, breaking the connection of their hands and raising his to touch Cloud's cheek. "What is it? You've got me curious now and you know that you can tell me anything."

Cloud shook his head. "It's nothing important." That was a lie, Zack knew and he gave Cloud a stare that meant that he knew that he was lying to him. Cloud sighed, knowing the look as he had memorized and seen it almost a hundred times. "It's just, it's possible that we're going to…you know, have sex some day and…I just…" He let out a low groan and pushed his face into Zack's neck, the air around him suddenly feeling hot.

Zack smiled and chuckled, lifting Cloud's head and kissing his lips. Cloud returned the kiss, his face still flushed. "Cloud," Zack murmured against the blonde's lips, "you're just too cute, you know that?" Cloud shook his head and Zack kissed him again. "You are. You're cute and there's no arguing about it." Zack kissed him once more and added, "I love you."

"I love you too," Cloud replied. He put his head on Zack's chest and sighed. "Zack," he started but shook his head and inhaled deeply. Zack looked down at him, wanting him to continue. Cloud looked up at Zack and gave him an awkward smile. "I…I'm curious about something," he said, making Zack cock his head to the left. "I'm curious to know what it's like to…"

"You're curious to know what it's like to what?"

Cloud's face turned crimson. "I don't know how to say it…" he muttered, hiding his face in Zack's shirt. Zack stroked his hair, smiling at the way his boyfriend tried to hide his blush. "I'm…I," Cloud took a deep breath, slowly looking up at Zack but closing his eyes tightly and tilting his head down. "I want to know what it's like to make out." A groan escaped his throat as Zack laughed lightly and kissed the top of Cloud's forehead, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in for a tight hug.

"I suppose that you want my help, don't you?" Zack asked teasingly.

Cloud opened his eyes and gave Zack a look that meant 'duh'. "Well, yeah Zack, I don't know who else I would go to for this kind of problem."

Zack chuckled and kiss Cloud's nose. "There better not be anyone else," he teased, smiling and kissing Cloud's lips. Cloud kissed him back and gave him a soft smile. "So when do you want me to help you with your problem?" Zack asked, sitting up a little.

Cloud's shoulders lifted and lowered slowly. "It doesn't matter, but we can do it now."

At this, Zack sat up straight, looking at Cloud with a look that Cloud had only seen a few times. It was a concerning look. Sure, Cloud had seen him concerned before but this was just more than that. Cloud couldn't explain or really say for sure what the other half of it was, but he figured that it had something to do with love. This made his heart leap with joy as this proved that Zack wasn't just some boyfriend that wanted to screw him and then move onto the next cutie that came along. No, Zack was caring and loving. Zack cared for him in a way that no one else but his dad had. It felt good to know this kind of love that wasn't just from someone that was related to you.

"Are you sure about that, Cloud? I mean, this isn't something you can't take back. And it's hard to tell where it will end up if we go too fast."

Cloud took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He understood what Zack was saying and he was right. He couldn't take it back once it happened but this was his first time to go to "advanced kissing" and he wanted it to be with Zack. No one else could give him this pleasing moment. Slowly he nodded his head, sitting up to meet Zack's eyes. "Yes, I'm sure about this. I know I can't take it back once we do this but when we do, I'd like to take this one step at a time."

Zack nodded, sighing and wrapping his arms around Cloud, kissing his cheek. "I love you Cloud and I wouldn't even think of rushing this on you." He kissed the other cheek and then his lips. His arms were locked around Cloud's waist but his hands did not touch him anywhere that would make the blonde uncomfortable; and for this, Cloud was happy to know that Zack was being gentle with him.

"Thank you Zack and I love you too," he said, his arms sliding around Zack's neck. He let go of Zack's neck, as Zack let of his waist, and lay down on the mattress, his legs spreading a bit. Zack settled himself between Cloud's legs, their hips pushing together. Already Cloud was trembling but it was from excitement, not fear. He wasn't afraid of Zack, he had no reason to. But the trembling made Zack stop what he was doing and Cloud shook his head. "I'm okay," he muttered, giving Zack a reassuring smile. Zack smiled back and put the rest of his body against Cloud's as their lips met, almost violently.

Cloud's arms immediately reached to the back of Zack's head and began tangling his fingers in his boyfriend's hair. Their kiss was just a regular kiss, but it was violent enough to bruise their lips. Cloud didn't care though, it only made that thrill of excitement shoot through his body and he trembled more. Zack paused in his actions, pulling away slowly but Cloud pushed his head down, forcing their lips back together. There would at least be small light bruises on their lips, surely enough.

The moment Cloud opened his mouth to breathe Zack took that as his opportunity to deepen the kiss. Cloud gasped at the sudden contact of Zack's tongue in his mouth. It was indeed interesting to him as he let Zack explore the inside of his mouth. After some time, he pushed his own tongue against Zack's, loving the way he tasted. They started they own little tongue battle but Cloud would let Zack take over every now and then. Their tongues continued to rub against another's until one of Zack's hands traveled up Cloud's shirt, making the blonde gasp in the process. His eyes half opened when Zack stopped his little exploring and he saw the older teen looking down at him with cautious eyes. Cloud could only smile and nod lightly, pulling Zack back down to him.

It was a surprising feeling with Zack's hand touching skin that was usually hidden and he loved it. A finger traced around his bellybutton, sending a shiver up and down his spine. The hand continued to touch him in places that no other hands (besides him and his dad) had touched. The feeling was foreign to him, but he was enjoying the pleasure that came from it. Zack's lips would rise from his and he'd take a few deep breaths before actually diving in for more. His tongue would lap over Cloud's bottom lip and he'd stop for a few seconds when the blonde would tremble. He knew that his boyfriend wasn't scared and that he was enjoying every moment. And even though he knew this, he still stopped for just a few seconds. Cloud had to be comfortable with this. Cloud had to be comfortable with _him. _This moment had to be one of the best in Cloud's life.

Zack's hands didn't go anywhere above where Cloud's ribcages stopped or the top of his pants. Cloud wasn't ready for that yet, someday he would be but that day was not today. His hand had stopped tracing around Cloud's stomach, but it still remained underneath the blonde's shirt. Their kiss also slowed down to just slow light, feathery touches. Cloud's breathing, which had picked up, began to slow down back to its normal rate as did his heart. His arms loosened around Zack's neck and one last kiss was shared between the two as Zack let his body fall onto Cloud's, resting his head on the blonde's chest and sighing. Cloud's fingers gently stroked through Zack's hair as he took deep breaths. A soft sigh escaped Cloud's lips and Zack reacted by tilting his head upwards.

"Tell me what you're thinking Cloud," Zack said.

Cloud shook his head and Zack raised his head to look at him properly. "I was just thinking that you're a good kisser," he said, blushing. Zack smiled and rolled over so he was on Cloud's left side. Cloud accepted Zack's held out arms and felt warmth and comfort in the embrace that they shared.

"I love you Cloud," Zack whispered, kissing Cloud's lips softly and closing his eyes. He wondered how many times that they had said that to each other since they started dating. He wasn't worried about a number rigth now, because he knew that he would never get tired of saying those words to his boyfriend.

Cloud hummed. "I love you too Zack," he whispered against his boyfriend's lips, cuddling closer to him and closing his eyes as well.

* * *

So...it seems that Cloud's not as shy as we think. Hmmm... I hear a lot of people say that they don't like drama, but then I see them reading a book that has drama written all over it. Wow... The only drama I get involved in is the stuff I write on here or books. But, my whole family is drama...and I hear a lot of things about them which makes me wonder: "How would you act if you seen that?" They don't answer me which is okay.

Anyway, you guys say that you want more drama... Well, you'll get a minor piece of drama real soon. I don't know what chapter it is, but it was really funny to write. Oh yeah, and I just recently finsihed writing another chapter or two that has drama in it. And when I saw drama, I don't mean: "Why do I love him so much?" like I just got done with. But I'm not gonna go into detail because if I do, then you'll just know.

Reviews? WHOA! SPEAKING OF THOSE THINGS, LAST TIME I CHECKED, I HAD ABOUT 190! Daanng -Joe Dirt, lol. I need to check those more often.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Twenty-One**

By the time next Monday came, a dance was scheduled for the upcoming Friday. It was a Valentine's Day dance and it was probably the first dance after homecoming. Cloud wasn't sure, he hadn't really paid attention to any of the dances or games that were held unless Tifa was excited about one of them. Whether or not his school had had a Valentine's Day dance before, he wasn't sure. He knew that in junior high they had lots of dances, almost one for every holiday. This was high school though, and the only dances that he knew about were homecoming and prom.

"Are you guys going to the dance this Friday?" Yuffie asked at lunch on Monday.

Yuna shook her head. "No, that's when I'm going out to find a prom dress."

"Oh," Rikku cooed, "did Tidus finally ask you out?"

A blush appeared on the girl's cheeks and she smiled, nodding. "Y-yes, he did," she said with a bit of a stutter.

Yuffie shook her head. "Man, I swear, you almost _have _to get your prom dresses early because all the good ones are taken by the time prom actually comes."

"How would you know? You've never even been to prom," Rikku said.

"That's because no one asks her to go with them," Zell added, laughing. Yuffie threw her apple at Zell's head, making a thumping sound and rolling away on the floor. "Ouch," he muttered, rubbing the sore spot on his head.

Yuna looked over at Zack sitting next to her on her right. "Are you and Cloud going this Friday?" she asked, smiling at Cloud.

The question had never really occurred to Cloud about dancing with Zack. Every star in the universe knew what a klutz he was when it came to dancing, or anything else that involved balance. Even though he had never danced, he still knew that it would be a disaster if he and Zack were to ever dance. If Zack could skate well, then there was no doubt that he would be perfect while dancing.

"Probably not," Zack said, looking over at Cloud once and back at Yuna. "I think those things are more for the freshmen and sophomores," he added.

Yuna smiled, nodding. Yuffie, however, spoke up about something on her mind like always. "What about prom though? You and Cloud _are_ going to go to prom, right? This is a once if a lifetime thing, y'know." She then looked over at her big sister sitting next to her on her left. "_You're_ going with someone, aren't you?" Lulu's response was a slight shrug.

"Oh c'mon, Lulu, you're pretty enough to have a boyfriend and I'm curious why you don't," Rikku said.

"Probably because they're scared of her," Zell muttered, getting a hard, cold stare from Lulu. He jumped a bit and looked away.

"C'mon, they're has to be some guy that's man enough to go up to Lulu and ask her out. All they have to do is be distracted by her breasts and don't even have to look into her eyes," Yuffie said.

"Yuffie," Lulu scolded and the girl cowered at the sound of her older sister's voice.

"I'm sure that there has to be _someone_ she's interested in, right?" Rikku asked, looking at Yuffie. Yuffie shrugged. "Well there has to be some guy that's interested in _her_."

The rest of the lunch hour ended with Yuffie and Rikku talking about the perfect guy for Lulu. But Yuffie's previous question bothered Cloud and got him to wonder about things. Would he and Zack go to prom together? He already saw himself as the _girl_ of their relationship and hoped that no one would convince him to wear a dress if he and Zack did decide to go to prom. He wasn't sure why he was thinking of prom or why he was thinking about dancing with Zack anyway. He loved Zack and he knew that Zack loved him but he couldn't help but ask himself if it was even possible for him and Zack to go to prom. Would the school even allow that sort of thing? He'd never heard of a gay couple going to prom together.

"What's up?" Zack asked after school ended and they were walking out to the school parking lot. Zack had his arm over Cloud's shoulder and Cloud was spacing out.

Cloud shrugged at Zack's question. "I was just thinking about some things," he said. But he knew that Zack would want to know what he was thinking about. He sighed. "I was just thinking about what everyone was talking about today at lunch. Do you think that we'd even be _able_ to go to prom?"

"Why do you say that?" Zack asked as they approached his car. Cloud just looked away as Zack unlocked the doors. He opened the passenger door and closed it after sitting in the seat. "Cloud," Zack said, sliding in next to Cloud and touching his cheek, making the blonde look at him. "Are you worried that we're not going to be able to go to prom?" Cloud looked down at the floor and sighed. "You don't have to worry about anything. I don't see why we shouldn't be able to go to prom. I mean, it's not like anybody's going to put you in a dress or anything." Cloud blushed and Zack leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, taking his hand in his and squeezing it.

Cloud smiled at Zack and sighed deeply. Zack kissed him on the lips once before pulling back and starting the car. "Zack," Cloud said, making Zack turn his head a bit to Cloud, "I love you."

Zack grinned. His heart felt warm, his whole body felt warm inside. "I love you too, Chocobo."

* * *

On Tuesday, it was another day for Zack with his counselor. After school was over, Zack had asked Cloud if he wanted to come with him. At first Cloud rejected the offer, saying that he should probably get some homework done. But somehow Zack had convinced him to come over, saying that he deserved a break from all the homework he had. Even though Cloud knew that he should've stayed home, he couldn't resist the pout that Zack gave him when he had said no for the third time. And with another pout, Zack had gotten Cloud to walk into the counselor's office with him.

"Hello Zack, and who's this?" the woman asked from behind her desk.

Zack smiled at Cloud, putting an arm around the blonde. "This is Cloud," Zack said, walking over to the leather-like couch with his arm still around the blonde's shoulders.

A smile spread across the counselor's face. "Oh, so you're Cloud," she said in a rather cheery voice. Cloud nodded, not trying to make any eye contact, afraid that he might blush. The woman seemed to notice this and giggled. "He's a shy one, isn't he?" At this, Cloud's cheeks reddened and he bit his lip.

Zack pulled Cloud closer and had the urge to kiss him, but he didn't. "Yeah, but he's fun to put up with."

Cloud blushed again, his hands started to twirl like they usually did when he was nervous. By the counselor's reaction, it meant that Zack had talked about him. Cloud's heart throbbed in his chest. As the two's conversation began to deepen, Cloud's thoughts started to wander. Most of it was about Zack and questions about Zack. He wanted to ask Zack what he had said about him to make this woman giggle so much. His heart sunk when he remembered the nickname that Zack had given him. Did Zack tell her that he looked like a chocobo? The thought made his face heat with embarrassment.

"One more thing Zack," the counselor said, "your aunt has told me that she wishes to pull you out of counseling but only if you're okay with it. I want to ask you this now, Zack: do you think that you need this counseling?"

Cloud saw Zack look at him once and give a small smile, then turned to the counselor. He shook his head with a deep sigh. "No, I think I'll be okay." As he and Cloud stood up to leave, Zack grabbed Cloud's hand.

"Okay," the woman said with a nod, "take care, Zack."

Zack smiled, squeezing Cloud's hand tighter in his. They left the room like that, hand in hand. Cloud's face had turned a deep red at the thought of everyone looking at them and seeing their hands together like this. When they got into the backseat of Rick's car, Cloud couldn't help but just stare at Zack. Zack caught on to Cloud looking at him and questioned him by cocking his head to the right. Cloud just sighed though and shook his head.

"Zack, did you…did you talk about me before in there?" he finally asked, blushing and looking out the window. Zack, however, took his chin in his hand and turned his head so that they were looking at each other.

"I didn't say much. I didn't want to give out too much information to her you know, just in case she tried to use you somehow to pour more information out of me."

Cloud laughed lightly at that. Zack's hand covered his and they held onto each other's hand once again. A small sigh, that was almost a whisper, escaped the blonde's lips. It felt good to hold Zack's hand like this. It warmed his heart to just know that Zack loved him and that they could be together. He loved it when he thought of Zack more than just his friend, but his boyfriend. All of this made him sound like a girl but he didn't really care at the moment, Zack was his boyfriend. He rested his head on the older teen's shoulder, closing his eyes a bit. Their hands separated but only for a moment as the hand that had been holding Cloud's traveled around the blonde's waist and held him closer, Zack's other hand simply collided with Cloud's.

In the rearview of his mirror, Rick could see the couple loving all over each other like little puppies. He smiled to himself and laughed a little, shaking his head. Tiffany turned in her seat and saw what he had been looking at and gave the man a grin. She nudged him a bit with her elbow, but only a bit because she didn't want to be the one to screw up his driving.

"You're one to talk," she whispered so that the two teenagers in the back wouldn't hear.

Rick shrugged as he made his turn to where Cloud's house was. "Maybe," he said. Checking the mirror again, he saw that Zack was stroking the blonde's hair. Cloud was fighting sleep that wanted to overtake him, but it seemed that Zack's fingers in his hair had won as so did sleep. Zack sighed and put his head against Cloud's, laying a kiss on his forehead before closing his eyes. Zack didn't fall asleep though as he knew that it would be useless because they'd be at Cloud's house in just a few minutes.

Cloud woke up in confusion when Zack started shaking him tenderly and whispered in his ear that he was home. It took him a minute or two to realize that he was in the backseat of a car and had just fallen asleep on Zack's shoulder. He blushed a bit but let Zack hold his hand as they walked up to his house. When they got into the house, they saw that Rick was already in there talking to Steve. Zack smirked at the two, but neither noticed, and walked Cloud to his room. Cloud lazily opened his door and made his way into his room, sitting on his bed and dragging Zack with him. Zack smiled and kissed him on the lips.

"Have sweet dreams, Chocobo," Zack said, kissing him again. He started to pull away from the blonde but Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck tightly.

"I want you to stay here," Cloud said with a blush. Zack chuckled and kissed him softly on the lips. "Please," he added.

Zack shook his head. "I'll see you tomorrow, babe," Zack replied. He kissed Cloud on the lips once more. "Dream about me," he said, making Cloud blush.

Cloud nodded sleepily. "Okay," he said. He settled back into his bed as Zack managed to pull the blankets over him. His arms let loose around Zack's neck and settled down to his side. Zack smiled and kissed Cloud on the forehead. But as he went to pull away, Cloud's arms quickly locked around Zack's neck and brought him back down again. Zack shook his head as Cloud kissed him on the lips, then on the cheek, and on the lips again.

"You're a handful, you know that?" Zack teased, kissing Cloud back.

The blonde shook his head. "You love me anyway, right?" he asked and Zack smiled and kissed him again. Cloud's heart dropped to the bottom pit of his stomach and excitement boiled through his body. He loved it, he loved the feeling. He didn't want that feeling to ever go away. Zack pulled away to look at him and smiled, shaking his head. "I love you, Zack."

"I love you too, Cloud," Zack said, pressing his lips to Cloud's for the final time. He made sure that it was the final kiss by forcing himself away from Cloud's grasp. Before leaving, he looked back at the blonde one more time and smiled at him. Cloud was already curled in his bed though, fast asleep.

When he got into the backseat of Rick's car, Tiffany gave him a look. At this look, he cocked his head in confusion and Tiffany laughed. Rick made eye contact with him in the rearview mirror and lifted an eyebrow at him. Zack finally understood that he must've been with Cloud a bit too long in there and he sighed.

"Was it hard to get away, Zack?" Rick asked, making Tiffany laugh again.

Zack shrugged and nodded. "A bit," he muttered. "Why, did you have the same problem or something?"

Tiffany's laugh grew louder and Rick sighed. "You could say that." Zack looked out the window and wondered if it was a father and son sort of thing. It apparently was if Rick was having the same trouble with Steve.

* * *

By that Friday, it was the day of the dance. Yuffie and Rikku had been babbling about it the whole hour during lunch and it seemed that there was no way to make them stop. Lulu had tried, but even she had failed at this attempt. Zack had asked Cloud privately if he wanted to go to the dance but Cloud had refused the offer. To himself, he really didn't mind going to this dance with Zack but the thought of dancing in front of his classmates made him a bit uneasy. Skating at the rink had been a disaster and he could only imagine what dancing would be like. Deep down, he really wanted to dance with Zack. Just the thought of Zack holding him close and twirling him around in circles made him melt inside. But even after Zack had asked for the fifth time, Cloud said no and made an excuse that he had to do some homework. Even though he had gotten most of it done in school, he didn't think he'd be able to be around Zack with the dance going on. And that was basically the first thing his dad asked him when he got home.

"Isn't there a dance tonight at the school?" he asked, making Cloud stop on his way to his room. Cloud looked at his dad and nodded. Steve looked at the overloaded backpack that Cloud had stuffed right after school was over. "I take it that you and Zack aren't going," he said, pointing to the bag.

Cloud nodded again, shifting his backpack. He scolded himself for over packing. "Uh, yeah…" He started walking to his room again. At that moment, the telephone rang, causing Cloud to stop in his tracks once again. His dad stood up, making his way over to the phone to answer it.

"Hello," he said into the mouthpiece. After a reply from the other end, he looked up at Cloud. "Yeah, he's here. Hold on a sec," he said. "Cloud," Steve held out the phone, "phone call for you."

Cloud swallowed thickly and took the device, putting it up to his ear and shifting his backpack again. "Hello," he cautiously said into the phone. His heart began to sink, trying to think of who it was.

"Hey, Chocobo," Zack said. Cloud's heart began to throb at the sound of Zack's voice. He felt like an idiot for wondering who would have called him. No one really called him that much unless it was Aerith asking him a question or Tifa trying to get him to go the mall with her. That was before Zack, though.

"Zack," he said, having to clear his throat a little. "W-why didn't you call me on my cell?"

He swore he could almost hear Zack shrug on the other end of the phone. "I did but your phone's turned off. Cloud, I wanted to ask you again if you wanted to go to the dance tonight."

If Cloud had been looking at Zack this very moment, he would've had to break their eye contact. "Zack, I can't," he said, "I, uh…I have some homework to do."

"You told me that Cloud, but you're lying. Why are you lying to me?" Zack's voice almost sounded harsh, _almost_ being the key word. "Please, Cloud, just tell me what's really going on. What's wrong?"

Cloud sighed and looked over to see what his dad was doing. Steve wasn't paying any attention to him as he let his bag drop to the floor and sat down in the recliner near the phone. He ran his fingers over the back of the phone. His legs curled up on the furniture. "Zack, I just…I don't think it's a good idea. I'm, mm…I can't."

"Cloud," Zack's voice made Cloud's heart drop.

"I…I'm sorry Zack," he said. "It's just, I don't think that dancing is good for…me."

"Oh Cloud, is this what you're worried about? Chocobo…"

"I can't dance, Zack. You've seen me skate and it's going to be the exact same thing with dancing. I'll look like an idiot, Zack."

Zack sighed. "Cloud, you're not an idiot. Do you remember what happened that day we were skating? At first you kept falling and losing your balance but then you were able to do it holding my hand. Do you remember?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I remember. But Zack…"

"You're not going to be on wheels, Cloud."

"I know that," he said. "I still don't want to go today though. I just…doesn't feel comfortable."

"Then is it okay if I come over?" Zack asked.

Cloud smiled, looking over at his dad. "Oh sure, just as long as you bring Rick with you," he said with a chuckle. At the man's name, Steve's head jerked up towards Cloud's direction from the book he had been reading.

Zack laughed a little. "Yeah, I might have to. I love you, Cloud and I'll see you in a few."

Cloud's skin warmed and his heart bounced to its rightful place. "Okay, I love you, too." As he hung up the phone, he knew that he'd never get tired of hearing those simple little words. When Zack said them, it meant everything. It was as if someone had given him a million stars.

"I guess that you and Zack are setting up a date for me and Rick, right?" Steve said, pulling Cloud out of his love thoughts. Cloud nodded, looking at the stuffed backpack on the floor. In an instant, Cloud saw his dad mark his page with an index card and hurry off to his room. Cloud wondered if he was, or would ever be, like that. He found himself picking up the heavy backpack and walking to his room, dropping it by his desk.

The urge was too hard to resist as he walked by his mirror and started to see if he looked okay. Okay, for what though? It wasn't like he and Zack were _going_ anywhere. Still, though, he found himself going through his closest and changing his shirt. After looking at his hair a bit, he heard a knock at the door and quickly ran out of his room. He walked calmly to the door and opened it, smiling as Zack came in and wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted him up in the air. Rick looked around a bit and then at Cloud.

"Where's your dad at?" he asked, trying to cover the anxious in his voice. It didn't work, though.

Cloud looked at the hallway that led to his and Steve's room. "He's probably in his room still." Rick nodded and started to head in that direction. Cloud turned his attention to Zack and felt his heart melt when their lips met.

"Hey you," Zack said, brushing his lips against Cloud's. Cloud sighed as Zack put him down but let his arms still rest around his waist. "So why didn't you just tell me what was wrong instead of…this?"

Cloud shrugged and looked down and back up at Zack. "I don't know. I guess I thought that you'd drag me there, but I know you'd never do that." Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and held on tightly. "Believe me I really do want to dance with you sometime but…" Zack shushed the blonde by putting their lips together. A soft moan escaped Cloud's lips and his eyes fluttered close. "Zack," he mumbled against the other's lips. When they finally pulled apart, Cloud saw his dad and Rick holding hands and walking into the room with each other.

"Cloud, are you going to be okay if I go out with Rick?" Steve asked as his eyes focused on the blonde in Zack's arms.

"Yeah," Cloud said, nodding. "I'll be fine."

Rick tugged a little playfully on Steve's hand. "Are you sure?" he asked as they started walking slowly to the door. Another nod came from him.

"He'll be fine," Zack said, kissing the top of Cloud's forehead. Steve nodded and smiled at the two, waving as Rick pulled him out of the house and to his car. The older couple gave each other flirtatious looks. Cloud looked up at Zack with innocent eyes.

"Where are they going?" he asked.

Zack smiled and shook his head. Cloud's innocent eyes held his though. Zack sighed. "Do you really want to know?" Cloud nodded. "Are you sure you want to know?" Cloud nodded again, poking Zack on the shoulder. Zack walked them over to the couch and sat down with Cloud in his lap. "Rick told me while we were on our way here." The older teen sighed and shook his head. "Cloud, I don't know how to tell you this."

Cloud chuckled. "They're going to have sex, aren't they?"

Zack looked up at Cloud in surprise and nodded. Hearing Cloud say those words was almost like listening to a five year old say a four letter word that started with _S_. "Yeah," he said, pulling the blonde closer to him. "You probably didn't want to know that, did you?" Cloud just shrugged and wrapped his arms around Zack's waist. Zack's lips slowly touched Cloud's for a short kiss. "So what do you want to do?"

A small shrug came from the blonde. "I don't know. You decide," Cloud said, curling against Zack. Zack's fingers went through his hair and he sighed on his boyfriend's shoulder. Zack kissed his forehead and Cloud sighed. "I wasn't entirely lying about the homework though, but I just have a little bit to get done."

"You want to go do it now?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged and then nodded. "Yeah, I might as well get it over with." He got up from his boyfriend's lap, standing there until Zack stood and there hands joined. Cloud blushed at the thought of Zack being in his room with him and a small smile crept on his face. It was because of Zack that he always felt this way. Cloud sat at his desk and watched as Zack lay down on his bed. His heart caught in his throat and tried to swallow the huge lump down in case his boyfriend was to say something to him and he'd have to reply back.

Shaking his head and turning his attention to his backpack, Cloud pulled the homework that was yet to finish. A few times he looked over at Zack, to see if the older teen was watching him. It always seemed that Zack's eyes were either closed or staring off at something in his room. Cloud shook his head and started to twirl his pencil in between his fingers. Questions started to run through his head and his homework had suddenly traveled to a non-existing world. His left hand supported his head as he was soon getting rather bored staring at the sheet of paper in front of him. He heard Zack sigh and his ears pricked. His head bounced up and his eyes followed over to Zack's location where the teen was now sitting up on the bed.

"What's wrong, Cloud?" Zack asked, leaning back on his arms. Cloud just shook his head though and pursed his lips, wondering if he should really tell Zack what was on his mind. But telling Zack the subject that was now bothering him would be too embarrassing to even say as it was even embarrassing for him to think about it. "C'mon, Chocobo, you can tell me." Cloud sighed. "Don't make come over there and tickle you," Zack teased, smirking as the blonde jumped a little in his seat and turned his body towards Zack.

"I was just thinking about some stuff," he said. Zack looked at him, urging him to continue and say more but Cloud shook his head. "It doesn't matter, it's not that important anyway."

Zack's heart sunk at Cloud's saddened expression and he leaned forward a bit, holding his arms out for the blonde. "Cloud…come here," Zack said as Cloud got up from his seat and made his way over to the bed where Zack was, accepting the comfort of his boyfriend's arms. "If there's something you want to tell me then do it. I don't want to see you sad because of something that is _obviously_ important to you."

Cloud hid his face in Zack's shirt. "You'll just look at me funny and think I'm weird," Cloud protested.

Zack rubbed Cloud's back and leaned close to his ear. "Have I ever thought of you as weird?" he asked and Cloud shrugged. "No Cloud, I haven't. Now please tell me what's on your mind or I _will_ tickle you."

The blonde pulled his face away from Zack's chest and sighed, looking at Zack with a sad smile. He took in a deep breath and held it there for a few seconds until his heart started pounding and slowly released the air through his lips. "I don't know if it's because Dad and Rick are going out but…I-I'm curious about sex."

Zack felt his heart tighten at the _"S"_ word. Hearing Cloud say that word made him feel like he had just heard a different _S _word from a little kid. He held Cloud closer to him and rocked the blonde back and forth. "Cloud…you sure you want to…know about…_sex_," Zack whispered the last word. Even though he had had sex before, to hear Cloud say it was like mentioning something evil and demon-like.

Cloud nodded, trying to get figure out what Zack was thinking. "I'm not asking you if we can do it now, but I'm just…I want to know, for when we _do_." Cloud looked down and felt his cheeks boil and redden. It felt as if they were on fire or had ticking bombs inside and would explode at any second.

A sigh escaped Zack's lips. "Can we…wait until that time comes or when we think we're almost ready to?" Cloud looked back at his boyfriend and cocked his head to the side a bit, nodding. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud and squeezed him. "I love you," he whispered into the blonde's ear.

"I love you, too," Cloud replied. Cloud thought for a moment and pulled back a bit to look into Zack's eyes. "Zack, I just have one question right now." Zack looked at him, urging him to go on. "When we _do_ have sex, how bad is it going to hurt?"

A smile crept on Zack's face and he kissed Cloud's head. "The first time always hurts," Zack said with another kiss. "Cloud, do you realize something?" Cloud shook his head. "With my last two _sexual _relationships, I was the one lying down on the mattress and unless you want to…"

Cloud shook his head rapidly, understanding what Zack was saying. For him, it was impossible to even consider topping Zack. He couldn't see himself doing it and he didn't think that it would feel or look right. "N-no, no, no… I don't think I could." Zack grinned. "And…what you just said makes me feel special."

Zack rested against the mattress, bringing Cloud down with him and putting the blonde's head on his chest. "You _are_ special," Zack said, kissing Cloud's nose. "You're special to me."

Cloud hummed and closed his eyes against Zack's chest. Something automatically came to his mind and he opened his eyes but didn't look up at Zack. "Zack, this Sunday is Valentine's Day, isn't it," he said. It wasn't a question, but more like he was reassuring himself.

"Yeah," Zack said, rubbing Cloud's back. "Do you want to do anything on that day?"

The blonde thought for a moment, considering what he and Zack could do or where they could go. "No, not really but we can just stay like this." Cloud put his hands on Zack's shoulders and leaned forward to kiss his lips. Their lips met and parted with a small smack.

Zack rested his head against the pillow and closed his eyes, feeling Cloud relax and smoothly equipped himself around the older male's frame. His eyes slowly drifted close and he stroked his fingers through Cloud's hair as he fell into a slumber.

* * *

How was that? I think that this makes up for all those short chapters. It's kind of longer that what I thought, though. It took me just two hours to read over and correct all those stupid mistakes. About that: You guys, if you see an error, please tell me where they are because I do not want to spend hours looking for them. And it'll be most likely that I'll just look over them.

So, one of your reviews made me laugh. Don't ask why or who. All I know is that I was having a bad day that day and then I opened my inbox and read that. LOL. Wow...

Well...I just realized something. When I went to go see where I was in this story, I saw how many chapters I've posted. This was my reaction: O.o SHIT!  
That means that I'm going to have to get the writer's block stuck out of my head. Where am I at now? I'm not telling you because you'll just yell at me. X)

I thought this chapter was cute... What did you think?


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

That Saturday afternoon, Zack went out to hang with Zell. He had called Cloud earlier in the morning to see if he wanted to hang out with him and the hotdog-loving-blonde but Cloud had said that he was going to finish the rest of his homework since yesterday he had too many _"distractions"_. Zack wasn't sure what those distractions were and he made a pouting sound in his voice when he asked Cloud again. Cloud somehow turned down the offer and told him that he should just hang out with Zell for the afternoon instead of being around him all the time. This broke Zack's heart but Cloud's convincing that he would go over to Zack's house later won over and the older teen smiled as they said goodbye.

He and Zell spent most of their time at the mall. It was really the only place where everyone could agree on going and it seemed to be the only place that they liked, besides the skating rink. The moment they entered the mall, walking through the sliding automatic doors, Zell wanted to go to the arcade. Zack followed him and watched him play a few games, losing on most of them and either punching or kicking the machine. By the time Zell lost all his quarters and stared at the dollar vendor in hope to get more quarters, giving it an evil stare, Zack pulled him out of the arcade. At first Zell whined and protested but he lived with it once he was dragged to the video game department.

After sometime of looking around for a few hours (maybe), Zell decided that he was hungry and forced Zack to follow him to the nearest food place. Of course, Zell ordered a lot to eat and made the excuse that he didn't eat breakfast this morning. Zack wasn't sure if it was true or not but he remembered that he hadn't had much this morning either. Hanging out with Zell without anyone else was like babysitting a temper tantrum four-year-old. The only problem with Zell was that he wouldn't take a nap after he was done running…or would he?

"So how are you and Cloud doing?" Zell asked once they had sat down and took a big bite of his hotdog. He chewed a bit and swallowed, rocking the soda cup in his hand a bit before taking a sip through the straw.

Zack smiled at the mentioning of Cloud's name and shrugged. "Everything's pretty good," he said. "Cloud is…he's just great…wonderful," Zack shook his head, "I love him."

"I know you love him," Zell said, taking another bite of his hotdog. "And by that look on your face, you're probably thinking about him right now, aren't you?" Zell asked after swallowing.

Zack nodded. "I can't help it. It's hard to not think about him," Zack paused. "I guess I'm thinking about the conversation we had yesterday…"

A smirk appeared on Zell's face. "So are you going to give me the details or are you just going to stare all day thinking about Cloud?"

Zack shook his head. "Whatever Zell," he muttered and sighed. "Yesterday his dad and Rick went out and I told Cloud that they were going to have sex. And it just seemed that a little bit after that he started asking me about when we would have sex." Zell laughed. "It's not funny, Zell."

"I thought you wanted to have sex with him though."

"I do, I want to really bad but he's just too…he's too…" Zack sighed.

"Innocent?" Zell offered and Zack nodded.

"Yeah, and this would be my first time…" Zack ran a hand down his face. "You know what I'm getting at, right?"

Zell nodded. "Yeah, this would be your first time to be on top of a guy and you want this to be special for Cloud."

Zack twirled the straw in his cup. "I just want to make sure that everything is okay with him."

"Understandable," Zell said, cupping his chin in his hands. "You know, Cloud really loves you. Trust me, I've seen the way he looks at you and holds your hand. It's like you're the only thing he has to hold onto that really matters."

Zack's right eyebrow twitched upwards. "When did you become so smart?"

"Hey, I take that offensively," Zell said.

Zack shook his head. "Sure you do," he mumbled but he knew that Zell heard him. "What about you?" he asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"What do you mean what about me?"

"Is there anyone that you're in love with?"

Zell shook his head. "No, not really but anyway, are you and Cloud going to prom?"

Zack shrugged. "We haven't discussed it. He's never mentioned it and I've never asked. I don't know."

"It's just going to get closer and closer if you don't decide."

"I know that Zell and I will ask him sometime," Zack said.

"Sure but anyway, why didn't you guys go to the dance that they had yesterday?"

"Cloud didn't really want to go but when I started asking him about it he told me something like he really did want to dance with me. I think he's afraid that he'll make himself embarrassed or fall or trip like he did when we were skating."

"Awe, poor little Cloud," Zell teased and Zack gave him a glare that basically meant "shut up". Zell laughed. "You should've seen Yuffie when you guys didn't show up, she practically blew up."

"I thought Yuffie wasn't allowed to go places without Lulu," Zack said.

"She isn't but her dad thought that Rikku was a good influence on her so he let her go without Lulu. And then there was the fact that Yuna was going with that Tidus guy, which is probably why her mom agreed to letting her go." Zack hummed. "What is it?"

Zack shook his head. "Nothing, I was just…"

"…thinking about Cloud?" Zell finished for him and Zack nodded.

"Yeah, I love him so much that…"

"Hi there," a high-pitched voice said from behind Zack. Zack looked behind him and Zell looked up over Zack's shoulder to see a very pretty girl standing there smiling at them. Her blonde hair was pulled into two pigtails and her brown eyes stuck out more than anything on her face.

"Hi," Zell said with an awkward wave at the girl and she waved back, giggling.

"Do you guys go to the high school here?" she asked quietly to where they could barely hear her.

"Yeah," Zack said, "Why do you ask?"

She shook her head and shrugged. "I'm new here and I was wondering if you guys could point me in the right direction tomorrow."

"Sure, we can help," Zell said, looking at Zack. "Isn't that right, Zack?"

Zack looked at Zell with a confused look. "Huh," was all he managed to get out and the girl giggled again.

"My name's Penelo," she said, walking over to their booth and choosing to sit by Zack. Zack scooted over and just studied the girl as she began to smile and giggle again. "So I take it that you're Zack," she said, looking at Zack and then at Zell.

"I'm Zell Dincht," Zell said, holding out his hand. Penelo took it and shook it gently. Their conversation slowly grew and Zell found out that he and Penelo had a lot in common. The only problem was that she was a girl. However, it seemed that Penelo wasn't very interested in Zell at all except for his humor. She laughed at almost everything he said but her eyes seemed to distance away from him every so few minutes. Her eyes landed on Zack and would take in his features, memorizing the way his hair fell when he looked one way and how deep blue his eyes were. Strangely for her, her heart and begun to thump in her chest. She wasn't used to being around cute of boys like these. And even though she already had a boyfriend, she still didn't mind getting to know Zack a little more.

* * *

Earlier that morning, after Zack had asked him if he wanted to hang out with Zell and him at the mall, Cloud noticed a strange look in his dad's eyes that he hadn't seen before. They were more _alive_ than anything else. Cloud saw that his dad looked more awake and _happy_ this morning. Why was he so happy? Questions pondered through Cloud's head and one simple solution bounced its way into his head. The previous night while Cloud was alone with Zack, his dad and Rick had gone out together. They had gone out with each other on a date, possibly, and had sex, definitely. Cloud couldn't think of a better reason as to why his dad was so perky.

"Hey Cloud, did you sleep well?" his dad asked as he moved around in the kitchen. Cloud sat down at the table and mumbled a _Yeah_ and rested his chin on his hand and studied his father moving back and forth. "I take it that you and Zack didn't do much," he said, turning and giving Cloud a quick glance before going back to whatever it was he was doing.

Cloud shook his head. "No," he simply replied and took in a deep breathe. Was he really about to ask his dad if he had had sex the night before? No, he couldn't just come right out and say that but he could paraphrase it somehow so that the _"S"_ word didn't even come out of Cloud's mouth. "What about you? You and Rick must've done something fun on your date…" Cloud had said it so innocently that it made him sound as if he had no sexual education whatsoever.

Steve blushed and wondered if he should _really_ tell his son that he had not actually went on a date. He still saw Cloud as the small little boy he had been over ten years ago and it broke his heart to know that Cloud would be doing the same thing he had just done. He couldn't even think of it without wanting to take Cloud in his arms and hold him like he used to. But he had to remind himself that Cloud would be an adult this year in August. He wasn't that little boy anymore…so he might as well have "that talk" _now._

"Cloud," Steve started, "Rick and me didn't really go out on a…_date_." Taking a sigh, he took a moment to look at Cloud and he walked over to the table, sitting across from his son and folding his hands together on the table. "We went over to his house and we had sex," he finished uneasily and tried to make out Cloud's expression. "Cloud," he said.

"I know," Cloud replied and his father looked at him in confusion. "Zack told me last night."

A "sort-of" flood of relief washed over Steve's body and he exhaled a deep breath he'd been holding. "Oh," he managed to say. An awkward silence covered the air and not much was heard but of what was going on outside and their slow breathing. "Cloud, I think it's best that we have _that talk_."

Cloud knew very well what that meant. He had received it earlier in his life when he was about twelve but that was when his dad thought that he was interested in Aerith or Tifa, he didn't remember which one. But this was different from before. Before, he hadn't had a boyfriend (or girlfriend) and he hadn't been this close to someone until Zack came into his life. He wasn't about to complain about his dad giving him this talk but the thought annoyed him because they were all the same. Whether it was in books, movies, or reality it was all the same. Still, he was willing to at least listen to what his dad was going to say.

"Okay," was all Cloud could think of to say. What else was he supposed to say?

"Cloud," Steve started with a slow-fatherly-sigh, "I just want you to be careful. I know that I've talked to you about this before but it's different when," he paused to think of the right words but none came, "two guys are together. But I guess that you probably already knew that." Cloud nodded. "Cloud, I just want you to make sure that you're making the right decision before you regret everything else later. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I understand," Cloud said and Steve nodded.

"That's good," his dad said, pushing his chair back and standing up. He wasn't really looking forward to saying anymore or answering any questions that he knew Cloud would probably ask later. He started to walk into the living room as Cloud stood and started to move a bit.

"Dad," Cloud's voice rang in Steve's ears and he turned to see that the teen wanted to say something. For a few seconds, Steve didn't see a grown seventeen year old but the small seven year old that Cloud had been years ago. He looked back at him, waiting for him to say something. Cloud bit his lip and hesitated but sighed and built up enough courage inside of him. "Does it hurt?" he asked.

At first Steve had no clue what Cloud was talking about. What was supposed to hurt? And then he remembered that he'd just finished giving a "sort-of" sex lecture to the blond. Of course he was going to ask if _it_ hurt. Taking in a deep breath, he nodded and looked into Cloud's blue eyes that resembled his mother's. "For a while it will hurt but if you give it enough time then it will get better."

That was all Cloud needed to hear. He was pretty sure that Zack had said something that was pretty much the same thing but he couldn't remember. He knew that he probably wouldn't find someone else like Zack in another ten years or so. And by then he'd either be in college or on his own. But he didn't want someone else that was like Zack. He wanted to be with Zack and no one else. No one was perfect for him unless that person was Zack. Zack held a special place in his heart and he knew that he was the same to his boyfriend. No one else could take that away from them, he was sure of it.

* * *

Cloud first met Penelo when he was talking to Zack by the older teen's locker. Zack's eyes were stuck on Cloud as they started to discuss a few minor things that didn't really matter at all but it was something to start the day with. Cloud explained about how tired he was and of course Zack had asked why he was so tired. The blonde was guilty when he answered that he had been reading a book for an hour after what was supposed to be his usual bedtime. Zack began to tease him a bit, making Cloud blush. He smiled nonstop as Zack kept talking to him and just listening to the way Zack's voice sounded in his ears. He loved it, he loved everything about Zack. He loved Zack. His smile didn't really fade as he heard a new feminine voice that belonged to a blonde girl that Cloud didn't recognize at this school, but the smile didn't exactly stay on his face either.

"Hey Zack," was what she had said. Those words that had cut Cloud from his smiling place with Zack, the happy feeling that he usually felt with Zack had sank down to the pit of his stomach as this new girl stared dreamily at, Cloud quoted, _his_ boyfriend. He thought that he might be feeling a strange bit of jealousy but he didn't exactly know why. Maybe it was because this new girl was talking to Zack and Zack hadn't even mentioned her… Was she in Zack's class? No, he was sure that he would've seen her somewhere around the school. She had to be a new student…

"Oh, hi Penelo," Zack said. He gave his usual cheerful smile and wave that he gave to just about everyone. Cloud felt his heart tighten inside his chest and he looked at Zack and hoped that his boyfriend caught his gaze. Eventually he noticed Cloud staring at him and knew that Cloud wanted an introduction to know who this girl was. Zack faked a cough and cleared his throat. "Uh, Penelo this is Cloud," he said while looking at Cloud. "Cloud this Penelo, she's new here."

Penelo acted like she had just noticed Cloud for the first time and blinked, shaking her head a little. She smiled and curved her wrist at Cloud, giving him a weird wave. "Hello," she said, even her voice was strange as she greeted Cloud.

Cloud just nodded once towards her. He didn't really like her but that could have been just because of how she was acting towards him (and Zack). An awkward silence blanketed the air around them and Penelo shifted a little where she was standing. The warning bell toned off and everyone scurried off in different directions. Cloud began to walk to his and Zack's regular classroom and Zack followed until he heard Penelo make a "_mm_ing" sound in the back of her throat. Zack looked back at her and she fidgeted a bit with the books in her arms.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Penelo sighed. "Where's Health class at?"

Zack remembered on Saturday that he and Zell would point her in the directions that she needed to get to. "It's close to the gym, you can't miss it. There will be a big banner above the door that will say something about safe sex."

Penelo smiled. "Okay, thanks Zack."

Zack smiled back at her and turned as she almost skipped away. Cloud gave him a strange look and when Zack asked _what_, Cloud just shook his head. Maybe he _was_ jealous but he doubted that he had any reason to. If Zack had met this girl then he would've told her about them being together, right? The question haunted Cloud and he couldn't focus on anything that was in front of him, especially the door.

"Careful Cloud, I'd hate to explain to your dad about how you got a bump on you head." Cloud just shook his head and threw the door open and went over to sit down. He buried his head down in his arms that had his books pillowed underneath them. Zack pushed a desk over to Cloud and sat by the blonde. He looked down at Cloud and shook his head amusingly and sighed, putting his arm over Cloud's shoulder. "Tired?" he asked and planted a kiss on the side of his head.

Cloud turned his head to the side so that he could see Zack. "I guess," he said and sighed. His eyes closed when Zack kissed his cheek. He heard Zack get up and opened his eyes only to close them again as his boyfriend's hands rubbed his shoulders and back. A sigh escaped his from his throat and he sat up, resting his head against Zack's stomach. Zack stopped moving his hands and kissed Cloud on the top of his head. "Zack," Cloud said and felt Zack's head touch his shoulder, a soft _hmm_ sound coming from his throat. "How do you know that girl…Penelo?"

Zack hesitated for a moment and sighed, kissing Cloud on the side of his jaw line. "She came up to me and Zell yesterday when we were at the mall. Why do you ask?"

A small shrug appeared on Cloud's shoulders. "I don't know. I was just wondering how she knew you," Cloud said, not admitting that he was probably jealous.

"Is that all?" Zack persisted, nudging at Cloud's earlobe with his nose and lips. Cloud bent his head down to hide his ear but that didn't help. Zack's hands were now at his sides, lightly tickling when he tried to keep his ear from being nibbled at. "Hmm Cloud, is there something you're not telling me?" Zack nibbled at Cloud's earlobe again, causing the blonde to jerk. Zack just laughed lightly at him and kissed the earlobe that he'd been teasing. "I love you."

"I love you too," Cloud mumbled as Zack started to train kisses from his ear to his lips. Again, Cloud squirmed at this. "Zack, what if they have a security camera in here?"

Zack didn't pull back and kept kissing Cloud. "They don't put cameras in the classrooms, Cloud." Cloud still squirmed when Zack kissed him and sent tickling sensations through his body. "Cloud, no one's going to see us." A kiss on the lips made Cloud freeze in mid-squirm and his body slowly relaxed in the chair he was sitting in. Slowly his eyes shut tightly and his lips reacted to Zack's. His heart thumped rapidly against his chest and he leaned towards Zack to kiss him better.

When Zack pulled away, Cloud felt as if his breath had just been taken away from him. He swallowed and took deep breaths, watching the way Zack's eyes stared down at him. After a moment Cloud sighed and looked away from those eyes, those beautiful eyes that he loved so much. Apparently the sigh meant something to Zack and he leaned as close as he could to Cloud's face to try and see right through him. He couldn't do that with the blonde though.

"What's the matter, Cloud? You seem like you're upset about something," he said soothingly, lifting a hand to brush through Cloud's golden locks.

Cloud just shook his head and sighed again, looking at Zack. "It's nothing," he said but he knew that Zack wouldn't settle for that sort of answer. "I'm okay, it's just…" he shook his head. "It's stupid," he finished.

Zack seemed to lean closer to him, that deep concern look on his face. "Cloud," he said in a tone that caused Cloud's heart to break into a million gazillion pieces. He gave Cloud his puppy pout and Cloud sighed.

"I'm just… I feel weird when some girls start talking to you. Don't get mad at me when I say this but when I see them flirting with you, it's like you don't even care or notice and I want to smack you. I know that sounds weird but…"

"Cloud," Zack said again and pulled him closer, kissing his forehead. "I love you more than I have ever loved anyone else before. And that's a lot because I haven't really felt this way except when I was with Angeal and Yuna. But those relationships didn't last long and I didn't look forward for them to. You're special to me, Cloud."

Cloud sighed and rested his head on Zack's shoulder. "I love you too, Zack," he said. "But I can't exactly tell you how I feel when I see a girl flirting with you, it's impossible to explain."

Zack sighed. "They don't interest me, Chocobo," Zack said, kissing Cloud's cheek. "No one else interests me except for the short boyfriend I have.

Cloud blushed. "Zack," he whined softly. He stared at his boyfriend for a while until his eyes widened a bit from something that he had remembered from before. "Did you…did you tell Penelo about, you know, us?"

A small shake of Zack's head made Cloud's heart drop. "Sorry," he whispered, "but it never came up. Would it make you feel better if I said something to her?"

Cloud nodded. "A little," he mumbled as Zack started to get closer. His heart beat heavily in his chest. Zack smiled at him and kissed the tip of his nose. Cloud's eyes fluttered close at the touch and he felt Zack's lips on his, moving their lips together. He pulled back and looked at Cloud lovingly, brushing his hand through his hair. Cloud's heart continued to beat against the insides of his chest. Zack kissed him again. "I love you," Cloud mumbled through trembling lips. Why was he trembling?

"I love you too, Cloud," Zack said, taking Cloud's hand in his.

* * *

By the end of the day, Zack was alone at his locker as Cloud had to talk to one of his teachers about something. He pursed his lips as he scanned through the books in his locker and decided that he didn't need any as he grabbed his jacket and gently slammed the locker door shut. As he slipped his arms through the jacket's arm holes, he saw someone walking up to him from the corner of his eye. He turned his head fully to the side and saw Penelo stopping right in front of him as he reached for the zipper on his jacket.

"Hey, Zack," she greeted, smiling and giving him a happy wave. It was then that Zack remembered the awkward wave and greeting that she'd given Cloud. Had she not seen or noticed him standing there? Surely she would've at least seen him, _at least_.

"Hey," Zack replied in his usual happy voice and zipped up the jacket. "So how was your first day?" he asked, remembering what Cloud had said to him in the morning.

She smiled. "It was okay, a lot of these teachers are weird though. Anyway, I wanted to ask you something before you leave and before I forget."

"Go ahead and ask," Zack said.

It seemed that Penelo hesitated at first as she took in a deep breath and clutched her bag tightly to her shoulders, trying to position it in a good place without her coat getting in the way. "Are you doing anything this weekend?"

Zack's heart dropped as he new that that sentence, that question, was the first thing all teens asked when they wanted to ask someone to go out with them. Zack pocketed his hands and shook his head. "Probably not," he muttered. "But, I couldn't go out with you this weekend, or any other weekend." Penelo gave him a questioning look and he sighed. "I already have someone," he said.

Penelo's eyes widened as she realized what Zack was saying. "Oh," she said, her face reddening. "I feel stupid," she said as a sigh escaped her lips. "So…who is the lucky girl that you're with?"

Zack shook his head. "I'm not with a girl, I'm with a guy," he answered. "The _guy_ I'm with is…Cloud." He had hesitated a moment, wondering if he should really tell her that he was dating Cloud.

"Oh, the blonde that you were standing with this morning?" she asked and Zack nodded. "You…don't look like the type of guy that would be gay," she suddenly said, causing Zack to look back at her in confusion. "I mean, when I first saw you, I was sure that you were, like, a basketball player or something along that. You know, the type of guy that would go out and party all day and night with girls looming all over him."

"Well you're right about the looming girl's part, but I'm not interested."

Penelo nodded. "I…I can see that." She looked away for a moment before looking back up at Zack, trying to think of something to say. "Well, I guess I should get going then. See ya later, Zack," she said, giving him another wave and walking away.

Zack stared at her until he was sure that she wouldn't come back running and asking more questions. On his way to the parking lot, he wondered if he should've have told her that he was with a _guy_. He shook his head at the thought though and told himself that it would be better that way, better for Cloud. At least, he hoped it would be.

* * *

Well, there's some mid-drama for you guys. I can't remember if there's anymore scenes with Penelo, because I thought that there was. Anyway, so here's the gist (in case no one understood): Penelo is a new girl going to the high school that's mentioned here. She becomes quick friends with Zell and Zack at the mall, but is more interested in Zack. X) Zell is gay, if I haven't mentioned that already, don't remember. Cloud feels a little jealous over Penelo flirting with Zack. Penelo tries to ask Zack out, even though she already has a boyfriend back at home. She is turned down because unfortunately for her, Zack is already with Cloud.

*sighs* This story is killing me. No, really, my brain is frying. I've had to actually go work on other stories just for it to leave me alone, doesn't work.

So...reviews? (I haven't gotten those from you guys in a while.) Feels like they stopped when Cloud and Zack got all smoochy-smooch with each other.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

It was the last weekend of February that had Cloud all anxious. He didn't exactly know why but he just had this nervous feeling inside of him. He had mentioned it to Zack the day before but his boyfriend wasn't helping, making a joke by saying that there could be a baby inside of him. At hearing this, Cloud had smacked him and Zack only laughed, defending himself by repeating "I'm kidding". The feeling had gone away after that but it was back again today. And somehow he found himself surrounded by a bunch of girls, watching a chick flick movie. He wasn't sure how he let Tifa and Rikku convince him to watch the movie, or how he believed Yuffie and Selphie that it wasn't one of those cliché movies that end up the same way, but he had. The movie _was_ cliché though and it was starting to make him sick. He wanted anything, a text from Zack or a call from his dad, anything that could give him a good excuse to get out of there. But Yuffie had called his dad _and_ Zack, telling both of them that he'd be watching a movie with a bunch of girls…and Zell. He swore he could hear Zack laughing at him, but maybe it was the nervous feeling inside of him. And just to make sure that Cloud wouldn't get distracted, Yuffie confiscated his phone, putting it in the butt pocket of her jeans.

"This movie isn't as great as I thought," Aerith whispered to him and he was glad to know that someone besides him wasn't having fun. Poor Aerith, for all he knew Yuffie could've tied the girl up and dragged her here. "Why haven't you called your knight in shining armor to come rescue you yet?"

Cloud groaned and shook his head. "Yuffie has my phone in her back pocket," he said.

Aerith giggled. "I see." There was a low vibrating sound coming from the inside of her own pocket and she calmly pulled her phone out. Cloud saw that it was a text message and watched as Aerith's fingers lightly pushed the buttons. Aerith looked up at him once she pushed the SEND button and smiled. "My boyfriend," she whispered.

_Oh yeah_, Cloud thought, _Vincent_. "Why is it that you never talk about him?" Cloud asked. "I'm not trying to be like Yuffie," he quickly added. He really wasn't. He just wanted to know if this guy was really okay for Aerith. He felt as if he had to stick up for her and make sure that things were okay in her life. It had always been like that, and it probably always would.

Aerith shrugged. "There's nothing to talk about, and we don't really talk about the other that much unless it's to each other. He's really mysterious and sincere. He's actually quite a lot like you, Cloud."

_Quite a lot like you_, she had said. Was that supposed to mean that the two would become good friends if they met? "How is that so?" he asked as the comedy part in the movie occurred and everyone around them laughed.

"He keeps to himself but opens up around me like you do to Zack."

Did he really do that when Zack was around? "Really?" he asked, wanting to make sure that she was telling him what he thought she was telling him.

Aerith nodded. "You may not notice it Cloud, but I do. You still keep to yourself when we're around but you smile and blush more than you used to. It makes me happy that you've finally found someone that can make you feel this way, Cloud."

Cloud sighed at the thought of Zack. "He's probably laughing at me right now," he mumbled but Aerith heard him. She smiled as her phone vibrated again. Cloud groaned as he looked at Yuffie and back at Aerith sending another text to Vincent. "I wish Yuffie would give me my phone back."

"She won't until this movie and the next movie we watch is over," Aerith said with a soft sigh.

Cloud looked at her, his eyes growing wide. "There's another movie?" he asked and Aerith nodded. He groaned again.

Aerith giggled. "Vincent's picking me up after this one's over. Do you want to ride along and I can ask him to take you home?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, but somehow I have to get my phone back from Yuffie." He saw Yuffie stand up to go to the bathroom and saw his phone slip out of her back pocket. He quickly grabbed it and turned the device on, seeing that he had two unread text messages, both of them were form Zack. "Zack," he whispered as he read both of them. The first one asked him if he was having fun with the girls with a laughing smiley face. At the end he had added _'just kidding, I know you're not'_. The next message was a simple _'I miss you'_ with a sad face. Zack even wrote between two stars _"puppy pout"_ and Cloud laughed lightly. He hit the reply button and quickly tapped on the buttons.

"What'd you say?" Aerith asked. "What did _he_ say?"

A blush appeared on Cloud's cheeks. "He said that he misses me and I said that I miss him too."

"Aw," Aerith cooed and stared down at her phone, flipping it open to check the time. "I think the movie is almost over."

Cloud nodded, hoping that she was right. And it just so happened that she was, but Yuffie quickly put the next movie in after she'd gotten back from her bathroom break. There was something different about this movie as it started out of two little kids promising each other to be each other's soul mate forever and the time year skipped about twelve years. Cloud noticed Aerith looking down at her phone every minute or two. He knew that she was waiting for Vincent to come and he didn't blame her. But after a half hour of the movie, Cloud felt his blood burning with a blush as he noticed that there was one of those scenes where the two lovers have sex. Cloud heard Yuffie and Rikku giggle and squeal as the guy ripped his shirt off. Cloud's cheeks turned fully red as the couple on the screen started to moan and groan with the pleasures of sex. And it just happened to be at that time that Aerith received a text message from Vincent telling her that he was there to pick her up.

"Are you coming, Cloud?" she asked as she stood up.

"Where are you going?" Yuffie and Rikku asked in unison, looking at the other and back at Aerith and Cloud.

"Cloud and I have to go somewhere," Aerith said. It wasn't a lie, but she wasn't really telling them where they had to go or that her boyfriend was just outside Yuffie's house.

"You're not going to watch the rest of the movie?" Selphie asked, looking back at the paused screen.

Aerith and Cloud both shook their heads. "No, sorry," she added. As the two started to head for the door, Yuffie's high voice chirped.

"Oh, Cloud do you want your phone?" she asked, reaching for her back pocket. She stared in confusion as she found that it wasn't there.

"I have it," Cloud said, holding the device up and waving it at her.

Yuffie made a face at him. "Oh, you little sneak," she said, sticking her tongue out.

Cloud shook his head and rolled his eyes, following Aerith outside. He saw a red car sitting in front of the house and could almost make out the person in the driver's seat. But it was when he sat in the backseat that he really got a good look at _Vincent_. He was pale with long black hair and almost looked like a vampire. But he wasn't completely a stone figure as his lips twitched up a little when Aerith leaned over to kiss him. Aerith looked back at him from the passenger's seat and smiled.

"Vincent, this is my best friend Cloud," she said, giggling at Cloud's reaction.

Cloud saw Vincent looking at him and was lost for words of what he should say. "H-hi," he said, mentally slapping himself for sounding like an idiot.

It seemed that Vincent didn't care though as he just nodded once and turned in his seat. Aerith told him where he could drop Cloud off and asked the blonde if it was okay. Cloud just nodded and stuttered a _yeah_. To keep himself distracted he looked out the window, hoping that he could think of something else. Eventually he started to go deep in thought about nothing particular and jumped when his phone vibrated. He looked down at it and opened the message, Zack. He shook his head at the text and hit the reply button, staring out the window of what to reply. Zack had said something idiotic when Cloud replied back that he missed him too and then after a few dots there was one sentence that made Cloud's heart throb. Zack had asked him if they could go out later today. A little winking smiley face had glared up at him and he hit the buttons really fast, accepting the invitation and asking where they were going.

Vincent pulled to a stop and Aerith looked back at Cloud, giving him a smile. Cloud smiled back at her and mumbled thanks before heading out of the car. He stared at the house that Aerith had told Vincent to drive to. He stared back at her and she smiled brightly, giving him a wave. Cloud waved back and started to walk up to _Zack's_ house. He took a deep sigh and knocked on the door, smiling as it opened about two seconds later. Zack's happy face shined back at him and his boyfriend pulled him into the house. Cloud found that he was being held into a tight hug and returned the embrace, kissing Zack's lips. His boyfriend rocked him back and forth in his arms as they walked over to the couch and clumsily fell against it. Cloud positioned himself so he was comfortable and wrapped one arm around Zack's neck, taking Zack's hand as he felt an arm slide around his waist.

"I missed you," Zack said, leaning forward and capturing Cloud's lips. The blonde blushed as he felt his own hand touch his hip that wasn't pressed into Zack's side. Zack nuzzled against Cloud's cheek.

Cloud closed his eyes and rested his head on Zack's shoulder, reopening his eyes. "I missed you, too." Zack laid his head on Cloud's, pulling him closer. "So where do you want to go later today?"

Zack shrugged. "I'm not telling," he said with a smirk and kissed Cloud's forehead. "Were the movies bad?" Zack asked.

Cloud nodded. "The first one was really bad," he said, sitting up a little so he could look at Zack. "It was one of the comedies that always end up the same way. The other, I think it was supposed to be a tearjerker at the end but I escaped with Aerith before the ending came." Cloud thought back to the movie that he watched. The one with the two kids telling each other that they'd be together forever really did end up being together forever, even though the girl had to cheat on her fiancé. And then there was that part where the guy ripped his shirt off and started to undress the girl as they moved to whoever's bedroom. Remembering the scene where they had sex made him blush terribly just like it had before. Zack caught onto this blush and looked at him in curiosity. "What?" Cloud asked.

"That's what I want to know," Zack teased, smiling at Cloud and kissing him. "You seemed that you were thinking about something. Did you get interrupted in the middle of a good chick flick?" Cloud shook his head, punching Zack lightly on his bicep. Zack laughed, his eyes sparkling. "What are thinking about then?"

Cloud sighed. "There was a part in the second movie where the couple had sex," Cloud admitted, blushing.

"Really," Zack said, but it was plain. Zack didn't tease him about the scene or even mention anymore of it.

"Zack," Cloud said. Zack looked up at him and made an _hm _sound. "Are you okay?" Zack nodded. "Are you sure?"

"I'm fine Cloud," Zack assured. "Why do you ask?"

Cloud shook his head. "You just seemed like I said something wrong." Zack kissed Cloud's forehead. "Are you sure you're okay?" Zack nodded and smiled, kissing him again. "Okay, so can I ask you a question?"

Zack pursed his lips. "What kind of question?"

Cloud shrugged. "It's just a question," he said, but he knew that Zack didn't believe him. "Anyway Zack, I want to ask you something about sex."

For a long moment there was silence. Zack stared back at him and finally shook his head. "Cloud, I don't want to talk about it."

The blonde felt defeated but he kept trying to pursue his boyfriend. "I do," he protested. "Zack, maybe you don't want to talk about it because you've already done it but I want to. I need to know some things, please." Zack didn't say anything and Cloud sighed. "What are you afraid of?"

Zack sucked in a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling like it would give him his answer. He looked back at Cloud and took both of the blonde's hands in his own. "I'm afraid of hurting you," he finally said. "Cloud, I know that you probably hear that it's the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to you but…" Zack shook his head. "I don't want to be the one that hurts you."

Cloud shook his head at Zack. "You won't hurt me. And don't you dare ask me how I know that because I just do. Zack, I want to be with you for the rest of my life." Cloud felt a bubble rise in his throat. He wasn't really frustrated with Zack, just annoyed.

"Cloud…"

Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck. "Please Zack," Cloud said.

Zack sighed and looked away from Cloud. The blonde was so beautiful; he didn't want to break him. He knew that he wouldn't ever hurt Cloud, but he still wanted to be cautious with him. Cloud was too precious. Zack looked at those innoncent blue eyes and smiled, kissing Cloud's nose. "Can we wait a bit longer until we talk about this?"

Cloud's eyes looked down and he pulled himself from Zack. "I guess," he mumbled.

Zack felt his heart wrench in his chest. Was this so important to the blonde? If it was so important, he wanted to know why. Zack felt his heart drop at the thought of Cloud asking if they could have sex. He really wanted to be with the blonde, he really did. It ached inside him so much that he really wanted to have sex with Cloud. No, he didn't want it to be just sex but something more. He wanted to show the blonde that they could still be together, without sex being involved so soon. He didn't want to treat Cloud the same way Genesis and Sephiroth had treated him. No, he wanted to make sure that Cloud felt the same way he had when Angeal was around. "Cloud," Zack said, pulling the blonde into his lap.

"What?" Cloud asked, doing his best to hide his annoyance. But it didn't work and Zack flinched at his tone. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Zack shook his head. "It's okay," he whispered and kissed Cloud's cheek. "I just wanted to tell you that I do want to have sex with you," Cloud started to open his mouth and say something but Zack put his hand over those soft lips, "but I want to do more than just that. Cloud, I want to make you feel like I did with Angeal. I know that we never did have sex, but that doesn't matter. We came close, and I want you to make you feel special. I want to be there for you." Zack kissed his cheek and uncovered Cloud's mouth. "I love you."

"I love you too," Cloud said, "but I still want this from you. Zack, I don't want to die a virgin." Zack laughed. "It's not funny," he whined.

"Yes it is," Zack said, nodding. "And we will Cloud, I promise. I just…I want it to be a special time and day and not just some random moment. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"A bit," Cloud mumbled. He lied down on the couch and put his head on Zack's lap. His boyfriend's fingers ran through his blonde hair, making his eyes flutter.

"I guess that's good enough," Zack muttered, rubbing Cloud's back with his other hand. Cloud made a soft moaning sound deep in his throat and turned his head a bit so that he could see Zack. Zack felt his stomach tighten as he saw those beautiful blue eyes that made his whole entire world shake. He loved Cloud and he just couldn't get enough of saying those three words that meant everything to him. "I love you."

Cloud blushed. "I love you too, Zack."

Zack smiled. "You're so cute when you blush," he said, rubbing two fingers over the blonde's lips. "I love you so much." Cloud blushed again and hid his face in Zack's lap. Zack laughed and ruffled the blonde's hair. "You act like you're tired."

"I had to watch _girly_ movies," Cloud mumbled. "Of course I'm tired." Zack chuckled at him. "And Yuffie had to call me a girl," he said.

Zack rubbed his back again. "You're not a girl, you just have curvy hips."

Cloud shot a glare up at his boyfriend. "You did not just say that." Zack laughed and nodded. "Zackary Fair, I do not have curvy hips." Zack laughed again. "I don't," Cloud said, convincing his boyfriend. The way he said it though, it sounded like he was also trying to convince himself.

"Tell that to these guys," Zack said, poking at Cloud's side and making the blonde squeal. "Oh, I think I found a ticklish spot."

Cloud shook his head. "You already _know_ that I'm ticklish, Zack. Don't even…" Poke. "…Zack," Cloud held onto his side, poke. "Zack, I will hit you," poke. "Zackary Fair," poke-poke, Cloud squirmed and tried to get away from his poking boyfriend but he was trapped between him and the couch cushions before he could do anything. Cloud squirmed and did his best to cover his sides but Zack already had a hold of him.

Zack watched as his boyfriend laughed uncontrollably, smiling at him. He couldn't help but feel his heart flutter every time Cloud begged him to stop or said his name. The sound of Cloud's voice made a bullet go right through his chest and he loved it. Even though it was pain, it was a good kind of pain. Finally he asked, "Do you want me to stop?" Cloud nodded, looking up at him hopelessly. Zack leaned down, ready to give Cloud a kiss when he tickled at his sides again. Cloud screamed Zack's name, making the older teen laugh.

"Zack, you're supposed to love your boyfriend, not smother him," a familiar voice said and the two boys looked up to see Tiffany. She smiled at them and walked into the kitchen. Zack looked down at Cloud and grinned at him, giving him a kiss on the cheek and scooting off of his boyfriend. Cloud sat up next to him and took in slow deep breaths. Zack smiled and wrapped his arms around the blonde, kissing the side of his head.

"Uh," Cloud mumbled. He rested his head deep in Zack's shoulder, positioning himself so that he was comfortable.

"So Zack," another familiar voice said, "what are you and Cloud doing today?" Cloud looked up at Rick. It felt a little weird being around him since he was dating his dad and everything that went beyond that. He liked Rick, though; he reminded Cloud of Zack a lot.

Zack looked at Cloud once and shrugged. "I'm not sure yet," he said and looked back at Rick. "Why do you ask?"

Rick shrugged. "No reason, I was just wondering if you were going to a specific place because I'm taking Steve out tonight." Cloud blushed a bit at Rick mentioning his dad.

"Why don't you four go out together?" Tiffany called from the kitchen.

"Tiff, I don't think that…"

Tiffany walked into the room, crossing her arms. "Yes, I'm pretty sure they would. I just said go out together, not have a double date."

Rick looked at Cloud. "Is that okay with you, Cloud?"

Cloud felt his throat dry up and his stomach turn. If it wasn't a double date then what was it? Zack would be there, he reminded himself. But so would his dad and Rick. He wasn't sure why his stomach was turning but he caught the facial appearances around him. Tiffany's was urging, telling him that he should give it a try and go to heck with it. At least, he was pretty sure that that what she was telling him. Zack's was pleading, almost, and he could see that that pleading look was slowly turning into a puppy pout. He quickly looked at Rick and saw that there was a concerning sort of look on his face. He wasn't sure what the older male was worried about or even if he was worried about something at all. Slowly he nodded his head, as he wasn't able to form a single word and felt Zack's grin on him. Tiffany was also grinning and Rick had that soft smile that had become so familiar to Cloud.

"Okay then, you two, go get ready," Tiffany said and turned to Rick, "and you go call Steve and tell him about the plans."

Cloud followed Zack into the older teen's room and sat on his bed. He wasn't really sure how he was supposed to get ready or _what_ he was supposed to do. His eyes followed Zack and watched as his boyfriend paced the room. When those blue eyes looked at him, he felt the urge to sink deeper into the mattress of the bed.

"Do you have anything at home that's really…fancy?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head. "No, I don't think so." Zack just nodded and walked into his closet, flipping and pushing clothes this way and that way. He pulled out a black button up, long sleeved shirt and held it out for Cloud. "Is that supposed to be for me or you?" he asked and Zack shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, but that shirt you have on right now is already kind of dressy." Cloud looked down at his light blue shirt. He didn't get how Zack thought that it was dressy but it did look kind of formal. His pants were just regular dark blue jeans but they didn't have any tears, rips, or holes. As he came to think of it, none of his clothes did. He looked at what Zack was wearing, the rips and tears in his jeans made his heart ache. Then again, rips and tears in jeans were somehow stylish. His eyes widened when he saw Zack lifting his shirt up over his head and sucked in a deep breath, trying to hold back a blush.

"Uh, Zack," Cloud muttered, making sure that his boyfriend _knew_ that he was _right there_.

Zack turned to look at Cloud, showing his bare chest off to Cloud. "Yeah," he said in a calm voice, as if he weren't shirtless. Cloud's mouth dropped open a bit as he stared at Zack's muscled body. He was pretty sure that this was the first time he'd seen Zack without a shirt, but the… Cloud blushed. His breathing was starting to rise deep in his chest and he shook his head at his boyfriend. Zack shrugged and walked to his closet again, pulling out a nice pair of black pants. Cloud could feel his cheeks going hot as he thought of Zack dropping his pants to the floor.

Cloud felt himself squirm on the bed. He swallowed heavily and kept staring at his boyfriend, his Zack. Zack slowly put his arms through the holes of his shirt but didn't button them as he reached the belt on his pants. Cloud blushed horribly and buried his face in his hands leaning forward as much as possible so that his head was on his lap, or at least close to it. He groaned. "Zack, would you stop?"

He looked up to see his boyfriend's face, but his face wasn't the only thing he noticed. While Zack's face was raised up in confusion, his pants were open, revealing his boxers. Cloud groaned again as a deep hue of red spread across his cheeks. Zack looked at Cloud and shook his head, sighing. "You're confusing me Cloud," he said. Cloud stared at Zack's chest, making Zack looked down at his open self. "Oh," he mumbled and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his hair. He walked over to the side of the bed where Cloud sat and sat down next to his boyfriend. Wrapping his arm around Cloud's shoulders, he pulled the blonde close and kissed his red cheeks. "Sorry," he muttered.

Cloud shook his head, looking up at Zack. "How can you expect me to not think of sex if I see you like this?" he asked. Zack shook his head and Cloud groaned again. Cloud's eyes gazed upon Zack's chest again and he swallowed, pulling away from his boyfriend. "Don't torture me, Zack," he said, making Zack grin.

"Okay, I'll try to hurry up."

As Zack got up and finished getting dressed, Cloud realized that Zack was still going to drop his pants down. Cloud sat against the wall that Zack's bed was next to and buried his head in his knees. Even though his eyes were closed and couldn't see Zack's exposed (sexy) body, he still had the picture in his head and it was making him squirm. He thought that he was going to die if he saw Zack's exposed (sexy) body again. Moments later, a hand touched his head and he looked up to see a fully clothed Zack. Cloud looked at the shirt that was in Zack's hand and back up at Zack.

"Do you want to wear this?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know."

Zack shook his head and sighed. "Come on Cloud, at least put it on and see if you like it." Cloud groaned and took the shirt from Zack and stood up. He looked down at the shirt in his hands, at the mirror, then over at Zack, and down at the shirt again. Zack sighed again, grinning a little, and turned around. "I won't look, if that's what you're afraid of."

Cloud swallowed thickly as he slowly removed his shirt. He couldn't help but glance at his body in the mirror and just stare at his reflection. Compared to Zack, he seemed really dull. His skin was pale unlike Zack's tan skin tone. He wasn't buffed out and muscular like his boyfriend was. A figure appeared next to him in the mirror and he jumped, noticing Zack looking at him.

"Are you going to put that shirt on or are you going to look at your body all day? I know, Cloud, you're beautiful but let's do this some other time." Zack took the shirt from Cloud and slipped the blonde's arms through the holes. Cloud was really too shocked to protest. He swallowed a big lump in his throat, watching as Zack's skilled fingers buttoned up his shirt. Taking his chance, Zack leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Cloud's lips. "I love you."

Cloud's eyes closed for a moment before he slowly opened them and stared back at Zack. "I love you, too," he mumbled as Zack hugged him. The sentence that Zack had said to him stuck in his head. That one word he had said was making his head hurt. Those two words together were like falling off a cliff and knowing that somehow you wouldn't die. _You're beautiful…_ Zack had called him beautiful. To Zack, _he _was _beautiful_. He pressed himself harder against Zack's chest, against Zack's form.

There was a knock at the door that pulled their embrace away. Zack went to go open the door and Cloud felt alone without Zack _right there_. But as it turned out that everyone was ready to go, Cloud felt happy as he was in the backseat of Rick's car sitting next to Zack. Cloud put his head on Zack's shoulder and held onto his hand, both of their hands resting on Zack's lap. Cloud looked at his dad in the passenger seat and saw him smiling over at Rick. He sighed, scooting closer to Zack as much as he could. He closed his eyes for the rest of the ride and it seemed like eternity before he opened them again and looked out the window. They had stopped at a building, a restaurant. That was why Zack had asked him if he had anything fancy to wear. That was why he was wearing this black button up shirt that was similar to Zack's.

Cloud felt his stomach drop as they entered the restaurant. The place had fancy music playing and couples in dressy clothes dancing. His heart turned as he thought of dancing with Zack. No, he couldn't do it. He was too clumsy. Surely Zack would understand that if they were to dance it had to be somewhere that wasn't around other people. He held onto Zack's hand tighter as a waitress led them to a table and took their orders.

"It seems that she likes you," Rick said to Zack, making Cloud's stomach knot. He wanted to grab Zack and pull him away from every girl that looked at him. The dumb waitress would constantly keep coming back to their table and she would ask them if there was anything she could get them. When she asked this though, she always stared at Zack first and then at everyone once before going back to Zack and holding her gaze on him. Cloud felt his stomach tighten. He wanted to believe that the words that Zack had said to him in his room were true, but that was getting harder to believe especially with these kinds of girls surrounding _his_ boyfriend.

"Cloud, I think you're going to need a shock collar for Zack," Rick commented. Cloud blushed at this and smiled, shaking his head as his dad smiled across from him. Zack was offended at this and said something to Rick. The two began to bicker about something that neither Cloud nor Steve were paying attention to.

After moments of talking, eating and more talking, Cloud heard people around him getting up and moving to the dance floor. Men grabbed women around the waist and pulled them close. Cloud thought of what it would be like at prom for him and Zack. _Zack…_ He looked over at his boyfriend, only to see that Zack was looking back at him. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he tried to say something. He turned his head to look at his dad but the older man wasn't there. Cloud looked around and saw that he and Rick were dancing together. Other men were dancing with men too, it seemed. Cloud felt his heart beating fast. Zack's hand was extracted out towards him and the blonde could feel his throat drying.

"Cloud, do you want to dance?" Zack asked him.

Cloud's heart raced back and forth, up and down, and all around inside him. He swallowed but couldn't form any words to reply to Zack. Instead, he just put his hand in Zack's and nodded. He allowed Zack to lead him across the dance floor to a spot where no one would bump into them and get in their way. Zack put one of Cloud's shaky hands on his shoulder, letting rest loosely at the side. Cloud's other hand joined Zack's and he shivered as Zack's arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him closer. He swallowed and thought to himself to steady his breathing, so that Zack wouldn't get some wrong idea and suggest that they just sit down and try this again some other time. However, Zack didn't seem to mind or notice.

Music passively flowed through the room, pulling lovers and couples together in its soft stream. Eyes danced back and forth as hearts raced. Hands shook while fingers trembled and palms began to sweat from being apprehensive. Legs lazily and clumsily stepped side to side in different directions, tripping over feet. All of this was happening to a few people dancing with their partners, but most of it was happening to Cloud. He'd never danced before with anyone, not even alone. His eyes kept tracking away and to Zack's eyes and down to his feet. It couldn't be helped, he wanted to know how his feet were moving but yet he wanted to see Zack's face when they danced.

"Cloud," he heard Zack's voice say and looked up at his boyfriend. Zack looked like a dream or some kind of character in a movie that someone had created. He looked like Prince Charming, or whatever it was that girls fantasized over. "Don't concentrate on you're feet, you'll just trip." Cloud blushed, knowing that Zack was right. He sighed deeply and looked down at his feet and back up at Zack.

Zack was right. He had tripped every time he looked down at his feet. During their twirls, Cloud found out that it was just easier for him if he got lost in Zack's eyes and he did. He got so lost in those deep blue orbs that it was all he could see and focus on whenever Zack would do a dancing move that was foreign to Cloud. The blonde felt his heart sink deep in his chest, he didn't want it to end. But unfortunately it did come to an end as the music stopped. Cloud didn't realize that they had stopped dancing until he felt everyone looking at them. His eyes averted to the people around them, including his dad and Rick, and back to Zack before he finally pulled away from his boyfriend with a small smile and a blush.

An elderly couple walked up to them, a man and a woman. The woman smiled brightly at them. She looked at Zack once, her smile deepening before she looked over at Cloud. "You two are so cute together," she chimed, clapping her white, lacy gloved hands together. Her husband nodded, raising a hand to rub his beard. The woman leaned closer to Cloud and whispered in his ear, "He's a keeper," and patted his shoulder before linking arms with her husband and slowly walking away.

Zack turned to Cloud some time after that and cocked his head to the right. "What did she say to you?"

Cloud shrugged and shook his head, sighing and wondering if he should really tell Cloud what the woman had told him. Zack gave him a small puppy pout and Cloud blushed, smiling a bit. "She said that you were a keeper." Zack smiled and wrapped his arms around Cloud's neck, kissing his forehead. Cloud felt himself being smothered into Zack's shirt and he took it as a moment to breath in Zack's cologne. "I love you," he muttered into Zack's chest, looking up at him.

Lips touched the top of his lips and Cloud swore that he had died in a happy place. "I love you, too," Zack whispered and pulled him closer. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's waist, not caring who saw them and what they thought. If they couldn't handle two boys loving each other then they could just go away. He didn't want this moment to end but to last forever and as long as it could.

"Whenever you two lovebirds are done, we're ready to go," an annoying familiar voice said from behind them. They both turned in the direction the voice came from to see Rick grinning at them with his hand collided with Steve's. Zack rolled his eyes and turned back to Cloud. "Hey, don't give me that look."

Cloud laughed lightly and Zack framed his face with his hands. "Ready?" he asked and Cloud nodded. Their hands joined in one and they followed Steve and Rick out of the restaurant. Sliding into the backseat of Rick's car together, Cloud sighed and rested his head on Zack's shoulder. This moment was so phenomenal that Cloud didn't think anything could distract him from it. "Hey Cloud," Zack's voice proved him wrong, "your phone's vibrating."

Cloud lifted his butt from the seat a bit and dug his phone out of his pocket, sitting back down and flipping the device open to see that he had one new text message. He pressed the button to view it and saw that it was from Aerith. She had asked him what he thought about Vincent. To be honest, Cloud didn't know what to think of him. The guy was just so enigmatic that he didn't seem real at times. Pressing the reply button he pushed the buttons for his response.

"Who's Vincent?" Zack asked, looking down at Cloud's phone. "Wait, isn't that Aerith's boyfriend?" Cloud nodded, pressing the send button, a little red checkmark appeared on his screen telling him that the message had sent successfully. "You met her boyfriend today? Was that his red car earlier?"

"Yeah," Cloud mumbled, snapping his phone shut and letting it rest in his lap.

"You do know that Yuffie's going to kill you if she ever finds out that you know, right?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah," he mumbled again, putting his head back on Zack's shoulder. He could feel a matching pair of eyes watching him through the review mirror, but he didn't really care. He sighed deeply and cuddled closer to Zack, taking a hold of his hand. Zack gently squeezed Cloud's palm to his and kissed him on the forehead. He muttered an "I love you" and rested his own head against Cloud's, admiring the way Cloud's blonde spikes felt against his cheek.

* * *

Awww, I love it when they say "I love you" to each other. It makes my heart melt... X3 Those two dancing together just makes me happy.

Review Replies: Someone asked if one sentence in the last chapter was a typo. I think it was something like Zack telling Penelo about him and Cloud, and then wondering if he should've told her. No, it's not a typo. I actually thouht of throwing that part out but then I was going to explain it at the end but never did, sorry. It's just Zack thinking if he should've really told Penelo about him and Cloud together, but it's like one of those late-reaction thoughts. Does that make sense?  
A few people also said that they have been reviewing. And I know that you have, but it just seems that they've slown down.

*sigh* Cloud's growing needy. XD


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

Yuffie eventually found out about Vincent and she practically blew up in Cloud's face when he came to school on Monday. She screamed things like "I can't believe you…" and "So tell me…" and blah-blah-blah. Cloud wasn't paying any attention to her ranting though. He was too distracted by Zack across the hallway from him as his boyfriend talked to a few of his friends. Rikku and Tifa soon joined Yuffie's ranting about Aerith's boyfriend Vincent while Aerith just shyly listened to them, holding her books close to her chest. Cloud felt bad for the poor girl. If Yuna didn't have choir practice for the day, she probably would've gone to go hang out with the brunette.

"Cloud, are you _listening _to a word I'm _saying_?" Yuffie said, putting her hands on her hips. "I swear you're all love-bug-eyed staring at Zack." Yuffie made a groaning sound, making Aerith giggle a bit.

Aerith walked over to Cloud and whispered in his ear, "Just go over to Zack, I know you want to."

A smile spread across Cloud's face as he looked at Aerith and walked away from the group of girls surrounding him. Zack looked like Prince Charming standing with his best friends, only Zack was more handsome than Prince Charming. Cloud smiled as he thought this and heaved in a deep breath. Zack noticed him and gave him that smile that could just make him melt all over inside. Cloud felt his heart throbbing as Zack raised his hand and waved. A blush escaped onto his cheeks and he waved back as Cloud went to go stand next to his boyfriend.

"Hey Cloud, we were just talking about you," Zell said.

Cloud's attention went over to Zell. "Really?" he asked and Zell nodded. Cloud looked up at Zack, hoping that his boyfriend would help him out but Zack only shrugged. "What were you guys talking about?"

Zack kissed the side of Cloud's head, wrapping his arm around the blonde's shoulder. "It's nothing bad, I promise."

That made Cloud feel at least somewhat better, but he still couldn't help but feel like that wasn't the end of it and he wasn't satisfied with Zack's answer. However, he thought that it was strange for him to ask more when they were in front of Zell and Squall. "Okay, sure," he said. The warning bell toned off, making people end their conversations and some even screaming to each other down the hallway "see ya next hour" or whatever. Cloud looked at Zack with a small smile. "Are you coming?" he asked, looking in the direction of where he would be with Zack for the rest of the day.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, in a minute; you go on ahead and get whatever from your teachers."

"Are you sure?" Zack nodded once. "Okay, well, see ya in a bit Zack."

"Yeah," Zack muttered as he watched Cloud's figure disappear down the hallway. His heart skipped as he watched Cloud's hips move from side to side and he let out a soft groan. Zack swallowed thickly and sighed when Cloud turned a corner. A sharp poke to his side made him jolt up and he looked at Zell, giving him an accusing look. "Ouch, what was that for?"

Zell looked away from Zack and shook his head. "You didn't tell him." Zell poked him again in the side, causing Zack to jump back a bit. "You said that you would tell him first thing _this_ morning." Zack sighed. "What happened, why didn't you tell him?"

"I can't tell him when everyone's watching and we're in the middle of the hallway," Zack said. "I'll tell him in class." Zell made a face and Squall raised one eyebrow. "I will," he said, not sure who he was trying to convince.

* * *

Cloud flipped the page of his book that he was reading and finished the sentence that he was in the middle of. His eyes looked up at his boyfriend across from him, scanning for something that he didn't really know. Zack stared blankly down at the textbook in front of him, not even giving himself time to blink once. Cloud folded the corner of the page he was on and closed the book. He reached over and poked his boyfriend's arm, making Zack look at him.

"Huh?" he asked, blinking a few times and sitting back, stretching. "What is it, Cloud?"

Cloud shook his head. "Nothing," he said, "you just looked like you were far away. Where did you go?"

Zack smiled a bit and sighed. "I was thinking about something." Zack pursed his lips and stared at Cloud for quite a bit. "Cloud, I need to tell you something," he said. Cloud looked at him in a way that told him to finish his sentence. Zack took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, closing his eyes. "Cloud," he opened his eyes, "do you remember on Saturday how we talked about…sex?"

Cloud nodded. "I thought you didn't want to talk about it, though." A small smirk appeared on Cloud's lips.

"I don't," Zack said. His eyes rose a bit as he looked at Cloud's smirk. He swallowed and shook his head. "Okay, you've got to stop that."

"Stop what?" Cloud asked innocently, making Zack groan a little.

"Smirking," Zack answered. Cloud only smirked more. Zack shook his head and chuckled when he saw Cloud smiling at him. "Cloud, you look too cute."

A small blush crept on Cloud's cheeks. "You're the one that said I should smile more. And it's not like I have a habit of smirking," he said matter-of-fact, "I learned it from you." Zack groaned again, making a light giggle escape Cloud's lips. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

Zack ran a hand through his hair. "You're tantalizing me, Cloud," he said plainly. Cloud smiled and Zack managed to hold back a groan. "I didn't want to say this to you but Zell and Squall said that I should or they will. Cloud, I want to have sex with you." Cloud's face fell into a blank stare. Zack swallowed hard and took in a deep breath again. "Well, I guess that's not really the best way to describe it. Cloud, I want to make love with you but…"

"Zack, I know what you're going to say," Cloud said. "I know that you probably think that I'm not ready, but I think that I am."

"I know you think that, but I want this to be special for the both of us. And, what if you think that you're ready but you aren't? Cloud, I want you to tell me when you're ready and not just when you think that you are." Zack reached over the desk and grabbed Cloud's hand. "Please Chocobo, I love you so much." Zack stuck out his lip and widened his eyes, tilting his head to the side.

Cloud smiled a bit. "Puppy face," he muttered, touching Zack's nose and then his lip that was sticking out. "Okay," he said with a cute smile on his face. The smile made Zack groan. Cloud giggled at this.

"You're so cute," Zack said, reaching over the desk and kissing the tip of Cloud's nose.

* * *

Waiting seemed to take forever as Cloud was anxious for that right moment to come. He didn't want to wait but he loved Zack, and he would do anything to make Zack happy. Even if that meant jumping off of the side of a cliff just so that they could be together. He understood what Zack was saying by that he wanted their love to be _special_ but Cloud thought that they were already special. It wasn't Zack's fault for making him wait or anything like that, but he just wanted their relationship to be perfect. Sure, Zack was already perfect enough for him but Cloud couldn't help but wonder if _he_ was perfect enough. At times he thought that he was being selfish, trying to get into Zack's pants and everything but that wasn't his fault. He was just a hormonal teenager that had needs that needed attention. Cloud told himself that he could wait because that was what Zack wanted him to do. Waiting wasn't always as easy as it sounded, especially when you were waiting for something that you really wanted.

Zack didn't help make the waiting any easier either when he was relaxing on Cloud's bed, legs spread apart and hands collapsed behind his head. The image made Cloud want Zack even more. It didn't seem to matter what Zack did because Cloud found everything cute or adorable in some way. Cloud tried to distract his mind from Zack as his boyfriend looked at a picture album Cloud had underneath the bed. He tried to listen to music, but the song that was playing was by one of the bands that Zack had gotten him into. Cloud decided to finish the chapter of his book, but the couple in the book had begun to make out and undress each other. The blonde finally gave up afterwards and just watched his boyfriend, hoping that the mental images in his head would go away. When Zack yawned, though, he found himself almost squealing and had to look away. It seemed that nothing could distract him from Zack because his boyfriend was just _that_ cute.

"Hey, Cloud," Zack said, making Cloud look at his boyfriend sitting on _his_ bed which wasn't really helping the whole _waiting_ thing, "how old were you when your mom died?"

The question surprised Cloud as Zack looked at him, waiting for an answer. Cloud bit his lip, wondering why Zack would want to talk about his mom. He looked down at the photo album Zack was looking at and shrugged. "I don't know, around three, I think. Why?" he asked.

Zack shook his head. "No reason," he answered. Zack stared at a picture for a long moment before turning to another picture. Cloud thought for a moment, wondering if Zack was looking at the photo album he'd stuffed and cramped with pictures of his mom when he learned about her fate and that she was never coming back. Zack's voice made him jump a little as he asked another question, "What was your mom's name?"

"Rain," Cloud answered, blushing a bit. Zack didn't laugh or chuckle though, which Cloud had expected him to.

"Is that why your name is Cloud?" Zack asked, staring at his boyfriend seriously.

Cloud shrugged. "No one ever told me why, but I guess that could be it."

Zack closed the photo album, setting it aside and standing. He stretched a bit and walked over to where Cloud sat at his desk. Cloud swallowed and felt his heartbeat increasing. Didn't Zack know that he was torturing the blond? Didn't he know that he was making it _kind of_ hard to wait? Apparently not, Cloud thought to himself as Zack leaned down and kissed Cloud's lips ever so lightly. His hands framed Cloud's face and his eyes slowly closed. Cloud's cheeks turned a deep pink and then red. He kissed Zack back and panted as Zack's hands moved to the back of his head, running his fingers through his hair. Zack was just too hard to resist as the older teen's tongue slipped through soft lips. Cloud sighed into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Zack's waist, pulling him down close to him to where they almost tipped the chair back. Cloud wanted this to be the chance where they would make love but he knew that that wasn't about to happen. Zack prevented it from happening by pulling away when Cloud ran his hand up his shirt. He sat back down on the bed, across from the panting blonde. He smiled a bit as Cloud tried to catch his breath, looking through half-lidded eyes.

"I think I know why your mom named you Cloud," Zack said. Cloud looked at him with questioning eyes. Zack smiled and shook his head. "You're cute, Cloud. You have the cutest baby blue eyes and they just...they remind me of the sky sometimes." Cloud blushed and looked away from Zack, hoping to hide his blush but Zack seen it and he smiled more. "I'm not joking, they really are amazing." Cloud hid his face behind his hands but Zack reached over and took them away, holding onto them. "You do know that you had pictures of you as a baby from when you were just born, right?" Cloud's face became a full shock. He did remember putting those pictures in there. He blushed at the memory of him being a chubby baby when he was first born. He groaned and lowered his head in embarrassment. Zack chuckled and lifted his head by his chin. "You were an adorable baby," Zack said.

"I was fat," Cloud protested and Zack chuckled again, shaking his head.

"You were not fat," he said. "A lot of babies are chubby when they're born, but you were a cute baby. And just the way the hair that you had came down to your face made you look like a little cloud."

Cloud laughed sarcastically. "Very funny," he said.

Zack sighed. "Cloud, do I have to go ask your dad why you were named _Cloud_?" Cloud shook his head. "Okay, then you can accept the fact that you were a cute baby and the reason I just gave you of why your name is _Cloud_?" Cloud shook his head. Zack sighed. "You're so difficult. What am I going to do with you?"

Cloud grinned and closed the space between him and his boyfriend by sitting on Zack's lap. "You could always kiss me," he suggested.

Zack hesitated a bit but he didn't argue. His lips met Cloud's into a passionate kiss that drove Cloud insane. Zack pulled away, sensing his boyfriend's insanity driving through his body. "If you try to go up my shirt or down my pants though, I'll make you wait longer until we can make love."

The blonde gave Zack and evil look. "You're no fun," he muttered. "How do you expect me to wait when you're always being so cute?" he asked.

A grin appeared on Zack's face and he kissed the top of Cloud's head. "You'll live," Zack assured. Cloud stuck out his lip and pouted, mocking Zack's puppy face. "Hey, no stealing my puppy pout."

Cloud smiled and wrapped his arms around Zack's waist. "I love you, Zack," Cloud said. Zack mirrored Cloud's movements by wrapping his own arms around Cloud. The blonde rested his head against Zack's chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating. He pushed his boyfriend just a little so that his back hit the mattress. Zack stared at Cloud for a second, but his muscles relaxed when Cloud's head rested on his chest again and an arm slung over his stomach. Zack wrapped one of his own arms under Cloud's head and grabbed the hand that hung loose by his hip.

Zack gently stroked the back of Cloud's head. The blonde's eyes fluttered until they finally closed. Cloud let in a deep breath and exhaled out a long sigh. He cuddled closer to Zack and squeezed him a bit, loving the way he felt. Zack kissed his boyfriend's forehead and muttered, "I love you too, Chocobo," in his ear.

* * *

Spring break was coming closer as the days and weeks passed by, gently soaring through the wind and into what everyone now calls history. Many people were excited about the break because they had _big plans _to look forward to. Tifa was excited about a new boyfriend that Cloud didn't really care about and it turned out that the school had planned for a Spring Dance. Cloud wasn't sure if this happened every year and he'd just now realized it or if Tiffany was just putting up random dances for every occassion. He had asked Zack about it one day but his boyfriend claimed to know nothing.

The Spring Dance wasn't the only thing everyone was going on about. Even though there was still about another month or two for it to come, everyone was excited about prom. Cloud hadn't thought about prom that much until now. He had a boyfriend, a date that he could actually go with, but he didn't want to wear a dress. When he told Zack about this one weekend afternoon, his boyfriend only laughed and told him that he didn't have to wear a dress except on their wedding day. This made Cloud blush at the thought of marrying Zack but the older teen just laughed again, making Cloud realize that he was just kidding. It hurt, almost, to think of it that way because he really did want to marry Zack. But how many gay marriages were actually _accepted_ or _allowed_? It would be worst searching for a great college or taking a really important test. Cloud managed to bring the subject up again to Zack one day but his boyfriend didn't say much about it.

"We don't _have_ to prove that we love each other by getting married," Zack had said.

"I know," Cloud answered, "but I just want us to be close."

At those words, Zack had wrapped his arms around Cloud and hugged him tightly. "We will be close," Zack told him and Cloud couldn't help but hide his face in Zack's shirt to hide the blush that had crept onto his cheeks.

During lunch one day, Zell was in a random conversation with Yuffie. _Go figure_, Cloud thought to himself and turned his attention to Zack. He watched as his boyfriend ate his food: the way he lifted his fork, how he bit into the food, the way his lips moved together as he chewed, and how cute it was to watch him repeat the process. Cloud had to cover his mouth and pretend to cough every time a smile or giggle tried to escape from him. Eventually Cloud found that he couldn't take it anymore, especially when Zack spat out his milk because of something Lulu said. Cloud ended up laughing loud enough for the whole table to hear and he still tried to cover his mouth with his hands to try and hide it. The smile was still easy to indicate though because Cloud's cheeks had turned a bright pink and his eyes were twinkling. Everyone had some kind of comment to say about the blonde until Cloud's flushed face went back to its normal hue.

After the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over and it was time to go back to class, Zack took Cloud's hand in his own as they walked back to their class. Cloud didn't care who saw or what they thought anymore. All he cared about was that Zack was his boyfriend and no one could ever change that. He imagined him and Zack kissing and a smile came to his face. Zack noticed the dorky smile on Cloud's face and nudged him a bit to get his attention as they came to their classroom.

"What's on your mind?" Zack asked as they stopped by the door.

Cloud just shook his head and smile more at Zack. "You," he answered and walked into the classroom, Zack following him.

"Is it good or bad?" Zack asked with a Chesire-Cat-grin on his face. Cloud poked the top of his forehead and gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

"That," he said and his cheeks started to shade from pink to red from red to pink.

Zack chuckled and rubbed Cloud's hair. "You're cute," he replied.

Cloud shook his head. "Nope, you're cute, especially when you're eating," Cloud giggled.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I just noticed today during lunch how cute you are when you eat," Cloud replied.

"You're a crazy little chocobo, aren't you?" Zack teased.

Cloud blushed and hugged his boyfriend tightly, wrapping his arms around Zack's waist and burrying his face into the older teen's chest. "Hey Zack," Cloud said, looking up at his boyfriend, "are we going to the spring dance this Friday?"

Zack shrugged. "Why?" he asked. "Do you want to?"

Cloud was taken aback by the question. Of course he wanted to. He remembered dancing with Zack at the restaurant, the way Zack guided him across the dance floor. It felt like he was flying and no one could stop him. He wasn't sure if it was because he was with Zack or if it was the dancing; but either way, Zack was with him. He nodded at Zack's question and smiled. "You know I do," he replied.

* * *

The two were sitting on Zack's bed beside each other, and that was perfect enough for Cloud. Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders and pulled the blonde close. Cloud lay his head on Zack's left shoulder, smelling Zack's scent from his shirt. A grin appeared across his face and he tried to hide it by kissing Zack's shoulder. Zack had seen that suspicious grin though and he pulled Cloud back away from him to look at his boyfriend. "What are you thinking about, Cloud?" As another grin appeared across Cloud's face, the blonde shook his head. "Oh come on, you can't tell me that nothing's going through your mind right now," Zack said and Cloud shrugged. Zack sighed. "You have a grin on your face that tells me that you're thinking about something, and I think it has something to do with me. Am I right?" he asked.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah, it has to do with you but it isn't bad, just embarrassing," he said. The look on Zack's face was basically saying that he wasn't convinced with what he was hearing. "It's embarrassing to me," he added. Cloud laughed a little and Zack just shook his head.

"It can't be that bad," Zack said.

"Maybe," Cloud said, shrugging.

"Then tell me before I tickle it out of you," Zack threatened, holding up his hands.

Cloud shielded his stomach and sides and yelped a bit. "No," he squeaked, giggling as he rolled on the bed a bit. "Okay, I'll tell you but just don't tickle me," he said. Zack put his hands down and Cloud recovered himself. "It's way back, to like when we first met," Cloud started. "You invited me to go to one of Lulu's parties, I think it was around Halloween, and you had your motorcycle even though it was cold that day." Zack smiled at him, a signal for him to go on. "Anyway, you let me borrow one of you jackets for the ride to there and back. When you dropped me off, I forgot to give you back the jacket and I remembered that it smelled like you," Cloud said, blushing.

Zack chuckled. "Did you like the way I smelled?" he asked.

Cloud's answer was a jump attack on Zack, pushing him against the mattress and burrying his nose into the side of his neck. "Yes," he whispered in his ear, "and I still do." Cloud blushed burried his face deeper. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist. Using all of the strength in his body, he carefully rolled over so that he was on top of the blonde, gliding over him as to not hurt him.

"Good, because I don't feel like changing my cologne." Zack kissed Cloud on the cheek and made a trail to his lips. He watched as Cloud's eyes slowly closed and began to passionately kiss his boyfriend. Cloud's arms wrapped around Zack's neck and pulled him close so that their faces were smothering against each other. Zack still hovered over Cloud, afraid that his weight would crush the poor blonde. Zack put his hands down at Cloud's side, holding onto his hips. Cloud could feel his heart booming inside his chest. His breathing started to quicken as his lips parted and Zack's tongue explored his mouth.

Zack's tongue dancing in his mouth was like magic. He loved the way it felt as his lips moved in a upbeat rhythm. Cloud felt one of his own hands rub up Zack's arm, his stomach twisting into knots as his fingers moved against Zack's muscles. His knees buckled a bit and he felt Zack reposition himself. Zack's cool fingers touched Cloud's neck, making the blonde shiver. Cloud's hands began to roam over the front of Zack's shirt. He tried to calm himself down so that his hands weren't shaking as he made a trail down Zack's shirt. Zack pulled away from Cloud and stared at him for a moment before diving for his neck. He repeatedly kissed the soft and tender spot there, resisting the urge to nibble. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck tightly, closing his eyes half way.

Cloud thought that his boyfriend looked sexy in a button-up shirt, but the buttons were too hard to undo. Luckily for him, the buttons were snap-ons and they came undone easier than pie (or is it pi?). The black shirt opened up to a white T-shirt that Zack had on underneath, but Cloud didn't care. He wrapped his arms around Zack's waist and held onto his boyfriend tight. He loved the way Zack felt above him. Zack looked down at the blonde, shirt open and a look on his face that made Cloud squirm. Cloud made a small moan from the back of his throat. Zack's fingers slid up his shirt, tickling his skin. Their lips met again and Zack didn't hesitate to slip his tongue into Cloud's mouth. Cloud's heartbeat began to quicken and he could feel the thudding against his chest. He slid his fingers up the back of Zack's shirts, rubbing his back. Zack had Cloud's shirt up so that it was rolled up to the bottom of his chin. Zack's hand gently kneaded Cloud's chest, his thumb brushing over the blonde's nipples. Cloud moaned softly into their kiss, his eyes opening halfway so that he could see his boyfriend. His vision was a bit blurry but that didn't matter, just as long as he could see Zack. Zack's other hand slowly teased Cloud's skin by lightly rubbing two of his fingers down to Cloud's bellybutton. Cloud sucked in a deep breath as they pulled away from the kiss. Those fingers, Zack's fingers, worked their way to the button of Cloud's jeans.

A knock was heard and the two sat up straight, startled. Cloud lowered his shirt as Rick stepped into the room with Cloud's dad. Cloud's heart began to speed, but not like the way it had done just a few minutes ago when he was kissing Zack. No, this was him being nervous that they were going to _talk_ about stuff that Cloud really didn't want to talk about, especially when his dad was right there. But Rick never mentioned anything about kissing or sex or anything about relationships, he just asked the couple if they wanted to go to the movies with them. Zack said yes in a very calm and cool voice and all Cloud could do was nod because he seriously didn't think that he could say anything without stuttering that he was making out with Zack.

In the car, Cloud and Steve were waiting while Rick and Zack were still inside the house. Cloud swallowed nervously and his head pounded with questions that he might have to answer and lectures that he didn't want to hear. Steve looked at his son in the backseat fidgeting with his hands. He shook his head.

"Cloud," he said, catching the blonde's attention. "Is something wrong?"

Cloud shook his head. "N-no," he stammered. He couldn't look his dad in the face as he said it because he knew that it was a lie. He couldn't lie to his dad. He didn't want to lie to his dad. He'd never done it before and he didn't want to start now. He tried to imagine something that would distract him, but that something ended up being puppy dogs and puppies reminded him of Zack and Zack reminded him of when they started kissing. And kissing reminded him that he didn't want to lie to his dad about making out with his boyfriend.

"You can tell me, Cloud. Is it about Zack?"

Cloud shrugged. "A little," he said.

Steve didn't have time to ask another question because that was around the time Rick and Zack hopped into the car. Zack sat close to Cloud and wrapped his arm around the blonde. Cloud swallowed and put his head on his boyfriend's chest. He closed his eyes to see if it would help a bit to not think of his dad and it did for a while until they arrived at the movie theater. Through the whole time watching the movie, Cloud couldn't help but look at his dad every other minute or two. He tried to distract himself by holding onto Zack's hand but that just caught his dad's attention as he was sitting right next to him. He didn't watch the movie that much since he was thinking about a lot of things and was surprised when Zack started tugging at his hand. Cloud looked up at the movie screen and saw that it was over, the screen filled with black and names coming from the bottom and disappearing at the top.

"Are you okay?" Zack asked as they left the theater. Cloud nodded, sighing and holding Zack's hand. "Cloud, please tell me what's wrong," Zack said, stopping. A few people almost bumped into them, muttering hurtful words but neither of them were paying attention.

"It's about my dad," Cloud admitted, blushing. "What if he...?"

Zack put a finger up to Cloud's lips. "Shush, you think too much. He's not going to think anything bad about you."

It took a second for the words to sink in but Cloud finally understood. He nodded and wrapped his arms around Zack, squeezing him and muttering something into Zack's chest. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud and kissed the top of his forehead.

"Are you two lovebirds coming or what?" Rick asked, smiling. Steve had a smile on his face too and that made Cloud feel a whole lot better.

Zack shook his head, smiling. "Come on," he said to the blonde, nodding his head in the direction of where Rick and Steve stood. He wrapped his arm around his boyfriend, kissing him on the side of the head. "I love you," he whispered into Cloud's ear.

Cloud put his head on Zack's shoulder, breathing in his deep scent. His mind whirled with different emotions that went up and down and back and forth. He smiled and sunk into the feeling of Zack's arm around him. His dad didn't even say anything about how close he and Zack were, he just looked at them and smiled.

* * *

Okay, I know that I put a few 'I love you's in there, but I also took a few out. Oopsies. I've been editing those in future chapters =)  
I even made myself a mental note in black marker that says **Knock Down the "ILY"S** and then in tiny letters in the corner it says **OR ELSE...** There's another note on the back of that one, but it's for something else...hehe.  
You should see my computer desk, it's full of notes. They aren't just about this story either... Some are about school and others are about games... Uggh...

Oh, and I found this funny quote from a book that I might wanna use someday. Who has read _Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow_ by Jessica Day George? Anybody? Anyway, this is the quote:  
**Polar Bear - **"Who are you talking to?"  
**Girl - **"Myself." She blushed.  
**Polar Bear - **"Oh. Am I interuppting?"  
**Girl - **"Er. No, I can talk to myself anytime, I suppose."

Lol, sorry... I just had to share that with you guys. It tickled me.

So who liked this chapter? Review if you liked.** or else...  
_*inserts evil elf laugh here*_**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

The Spring Dance was just around the corner. In two days the school gym would be decorated and full of dancing teenagers with music playing. Yuffie was excited because she was actually able to go without Lulu's supervision or anyone having to go with her. Lulu had a date with Wakka, which she didn't think would go well. Everyone else had encouraged her that it would be great, no matter how many times she said that something would go wrong. It wasn't that she thought that Wakka was a bad guy or that she thought he'd do something to piss her off, she just didn't think that going out on a date was the best choice for her. On the other hand, Yuna was also excited as Tidus had got the courage to ask her out. She had been hesitant at first, but accepted his request when he mentioned that this would be a head-start before prom came. It even seemed that Squall had plans to go to the dance with some chick named Rinoa.

"So are you guys going to the dance?" Rikku asked Cloud and Zack at lunch.

Cloud shook his head and looked at Zack. His boyfriend wasn't really paying attention to the question, it seemed, but he answered by smiling at everyone and looking over at Cloud. "We're going to chill that night, aren't we Chocobo?" Zack asked, winking at the blonde. Cloud blushed and nodded, not able to form any words.

"At least you two will be together, though," Yuffie said. "Our poor little Zell is going to be all awone by his wittle self," she said, adding the _w _sound to tease him.

"Shut up, Yuffie. I could get a date if I wanted to," Zell said, grinning.

"Then why don't you?" the short little girl asked. Zell replied by biting his lip and looking in another direction. Yuffie shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Right. Anyway," her attention turned to Zack and Cloud, "what are you two doing besides chilling?"

"We're going to watch a movie," Cloud mumbled.

Yuffie and Rikku giggled. "Are you going to be watching a movie?" Rikku asked.

"Or are you going to be," Yuffie put up her hands and made quotation marks, "_watching a movie_?"

Zack sighed and wrapped his arm around Cloud. "You're just jealous that I actually have a boyfriend," Zack said.

"Sure I am," she muttered.

"Well, you are," Zell said. "I swear, if you could, you would write down every move those two make." Zack imitated Yuffie writing in a book and looked at Zack and Cloud. "Oh, he breathed. Must...write...that...down."

The whole table, except for Yuffie, laughed. Zell grinned, happy that he made a good joke. Cloud saw two empty seats and noticed that Lulu and Squall weren't sitting with them. He asked Zack where the two were and his boyfriend replied by pointing over to two seperate tables. Everyone then looked as well and could see that Lulu was sitting with Wakka and Squall was sitting with a strange girl that looked almost like Tifa.

"Who's Squall sitting with?" Zell asked.

"That's Rinoa," Rikku answered. "She's, like, one of my best friends," she added with a giggle.

"Okay," Zell said, squinting his face, "don't go all cheerleader on us."

It was Rikku's turn to not laugh as Zell did a little imitation of Rikku as a cheerleader. Rikku replied that she could do it if she wanted to, but Zell only made fun of her more. Cloud looked at Zack and then back over at the group of friends laughing at each other. He tried to remember how he had become friends with each one of them, but he couldn't. He inched closer to Zack and smiled a little when Zack kissed the side of his head.

* * *

Everyone got a sneak peak at what the gym would look like on Saturday. Balloons had been hung and tied everywhere, streamers were dancing across the air in the room, and a table that would have snacks and drinks prepared for the dance was set by a wall. Cloud thought that everyone was crazy to get all hyped up over one little dance but apparently Zack didn't think so. He actually liked the idea of dancing with someone. He also mentioned something about it being better than staying at home and doing nothing.

"It's a school tradition," Zack told the blonde as they walked out of the building. Zack didn't have a car to drive them home in, but he told Cloud earlier that that was okay. The two could just walk together and it would give them more time to talk about something.

"It still doesn't make any sense," Cloud said.

Zack didn't bother arguing with his boyfriend because he knew that it was hopeless. Cloud would want to be right and have it settled like that. The older boy just smiled at him and wrapped his arm around the blonde's shoulders. Zack leaned close to kiss Cloud on the cheek, and his heart did a little leap when he saw a shade of pink start to form on the blonde's face. "Don't worry, babe," Zack said, "we'll have fun together." He kissed Cloud's cheek again and pulled away, taking his arm away from around Cloud's shoulder and taking his hand instead.

Cloud shook his head. "You make that sound so perverted," he muttered, his blush deepening. Zack grinned and Cloud groaned. "Don't do that," he whined.

"Don't do what?" he asked.

"Don't smile like that," Cloud replied, "it's hard to resist."

Zack laughed. "You're just too cute," he said and asked, "Do you know how cute you are?"

Cloud shook his head. "No," he answered.

Zack pursed his lips, thinking. He thought for a while before shrugging and shaking his head. "Well, I don't really know what the cutest thing in the world is but you're cute enough for me to love you so much." The blonde blushed again. "And if I _had_ to chose what I thought was the most cutest thing in the world was, I'd tell them that it's not a thing, it's a person and he's my boyfriend."

Cloud lightly punched Zack in the arm. "Do you _love_ to tantalize me?" he asked.

"Sometimes," Zack answered and Cloud rolled his eyes.

For the rest of their walk to Zack's house, they were quiet. Students and non-students on skateboards passed them as they passed the park, a few skaters whistling at the sight of them holding hands. Cloud blushed and looked down or away from whoever would wolf-whistle at them. Zack seemed to love the attention though because whenever someone did wolf-whistle, he would grab Cloud in some way that made the poor blonde jump and groan. He would even stop to kiss Cloud a few times, just to make the skaters wolf-whistle more at them. Cloud whispered to Zack that he was an idiot, but Zack would just yell something like "Oh, you want me to do it again" and he would do it again. Zack had even pinched his butt a few times. Cloud thought that his boyfriend was really making it hard for him to wait.

"Hey Cloud, we never planned on what movie to watch," Zack said as his house came in sight.

Cloud hadn't really planned on watching a movie. Even if they did rent one or go through Rick's stash of movies, Cloud wasn't really planning on watching it. He just wanted to be as close to Zack as possible. He had secretly hoped that they would do something more than just watch a movie, but he knew that that was impossible. He had tried asking Zack so many times about sex but he always seemed to ignore the question or change the subject to something else. It wasn't that he was trying to get in Zack's pants, even though he knew that that day would come soon, but he just wanted Zack to tell him what it was like.

"I don't really care," Cloud answered, putting his head against Zack's shoulder, which wasn't really comfortable as they were walking.

Zack smiled softly, shaking his head and tipping it back before looking at Cloud. "You don't want to watch a movie, do you?" he asked. Cloud felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest and to his throat. Zack had seen right through him. He didn't know how his boyfriend did it but he had. He swallowed heavily and lifted his head from Zack's shoulder, looking away from the older boy. He heard his boyfriend sigh. Zack's hand squeezed Cloud's a little. "Cloud," he muttered.

"Don't say it Zack," Cloud said, still not looking at his boyfriend. "We've been through this conversation so many times that I don't even want it to come up anymore. I know you want me to wait but I can't. You have to at least tell me some things so I'll know what's going on when we do."

"I know Cloud, but…" he sighed, "...I care about you so much and for me, it's hard to describe some of those things."

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not talking about positions or anything like that, Zack. I just need to know what to expect."

Zack kissed Cloud's cheek. "I know you do and I'll tell you before I know that we're ready."

Cloud didn't bother to say anything else or argue with Zack after that. He knew that it was useless to even bring up the subject again.

* * *

It was now late at night to where Cloud was very tired. He tried to do his best to not slump and make Zack think that he wanted to go home, but it wasn't working so well. He didn't want to go home or go to bed. He wanted to stay with Zack and he wanted to be as close to him as possible. Zack asked him three times if he wanted to go home before he finally gave up and motioned for Cloud by wrapping his arm around him. At first Cloud had his head lying on Zack's chest, listening to the sound of his boyfriend's heartbeat. As the minutes started to go by though, the random movie they picked got into a boring part and Cloud laid his head on Zack's lap. His legs stretched out onto the couch and his hands were folded underneath his chest and above his stomach. Zack's fingers combed through Cloud's blonde hair, making him doze off every few seconds. He turned on his back and looked up at his boyfriend, smiling lazily.

"You're going to make me fall asleep," Cloud told Zack, his eyes flying shut and open repeatedly.

Zack grinned. "You're tired," he said. "You need to go to sleep. Do you want me to take you home?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, I want to stay here with you."

Zack lifted his fingers to Cloud's face, tracing his eyes and nose and then his lips. He smiled softly and poked Cloud's nose. "You make me feel special sometimes," he said.

"You are special," Cloud said, "you're special to me."

Three seconds later, Zack was lowering his lips down to Cloud's. Cloud felt his heartbeat quicken as their lips met in a passionate kiss. He sat up a little so that Zack wouldn't have to bend his back, propping himself up on his elbows. Zack broke the kiss for a moment and positioned himself so that he they weren't in an awkward position. Zack's arms wrapped around Cloud's waist and started rubbing his sides. Cloud buckled up towards Zack, gasping as Zack's fingers tickled him. He wrapped his arms around Zack's neck, tangling his fingers in the older boy's warm black hair. Their make-out wasn't hot and sexy with saliva and their tongues didn't get involved that much, but it was warm and sweet with just a few long kisses on the lips. It still made Cloud's body warm inside and tingle on the outside. He loved the way Zack rubbed his sides, even if it did tickle.

He sucked in a big breath when Zack's skilled fingers ran up his shirt and continued to gently rubbed up and down his sides. Zack removed his lips from Cloud's and made a trail of kisses to his neck. He kissed softly at the tender flesh, making Cloud's eyelids flutter. Zack nuzzled Cloud's neck and continued kissing, finding a ticklish spot that made Cloud squirm. Zack smiled as his boyfriend tried to suppress a giggle. The older teen looked back at him and smiled, kissing his lips once and then twice. Cloud whispered Zack's name, making Zack swallow at the sound of Cloud's voice. He went for the new ticklish spot, making Cloud squirm and buckle. Zack pinned the boy down for a while until he was done tickling Cloud. Cloud looked up at Zack trying to form words that he wanted to say so badly.

Headlights pulled into the driveway, making Zack and Cloud separate themselves from one another. Cloud panted, his heart beating fast as adrenaline went pumping through him. His hands started to shake and Zack took one of his hands in his and squeezed it. Cloud looked at him, confused. How could he just sit there and pretend that they weren't an inch close to getting caught making out with each other. Cloud told himself that he had to calm down. There was nothing to be worried about, he repeated in his head. He took in a deep breath and put his head on Zack's shoulder, hoping that that would calm him down. It worked somewhat, especially when Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud and kissed the top of his head. Right at that moment, Tiffany walked in and gave the boys a suspicious look.

"What?" Zack asked.

Tiffany shook her head. "You two didn't do anything that'll make me want to disinfect that couch, did you?" she asked teasingly.

Cloud blushed and looked at Zack. Zack sighed at Tiffany as she made her way into the kitchen. "No, we did not do anything. If you _do_ you want to know what we did, then ask Cloud here," Zack said, grinning at his blushing boyfriend.

"Zack," Cloud whined, hiding his face in Zack's chest.

Zack laughed. "I'm kidding, Cloud." Zack rubbed Cloud's blonde spikes.

Cloud looked up at his boyfriend, glaring. "You better be," he said, trying to make his voice sound threatening. One little squeak left his mouth though and he groaned.

"Well if you two did do anything then I guess that'd be a story to tell when Steve and Rick get here," Tiffany said.

Zack groaned at Tiffany's annoyance. "We did not do anything," he said. "We kissed and that was it."

Tiffany chuckled and shook her head. Cloud rested his head on Zack's chest and sighed. It was kind of weird that his dad was dating someone that was close to Zack but he'd grown used to it by now. It wasn't that he cared who his dad was with, he just felt like they were double dating every time they hung out. Cloud didn't mind that either, but he wondered what it'd be like when he and Zack actually did have sex. He wanted to ask Zack about that again but he knew that Zack didn't like talking about it, and it would be extremely awkward with Tiffany in the kitchen. He couldn't just ask Zack if they could go to his room, which would be too suspicious. Zack kissed Cloud's hair, rubbing the blonde's back.

Cloud sighed at the feeling. He wanted Zack to do more than just rub his back or kiss his hair. He knew how Zack felt though and he understood that his boyfriend wanted to wait. Still, though, he wanted to at least talk about it. They just couldn't discuss everything right before Zack would lay him down and…

"Hey Cloud, I have to show you something," Zack said, getting up from the couch. Cloud followed and stood beside him, looking at him curiously. He wanted to ask what it was but Zack just led him to his room. Cloud felt his stomach turn in knots and his heart beat faster as his blood pumped faster. Zack shut the door behind him and sat down on the bed, which made Cloud very nervous. "C'mere," Zack said, patting the mattress.

Cloud obeyed and sat by his boyfriend, giving him a small smile. Zack smiled back and sighed, letting his back hit the mattress as he threw himself back. Cloud looked at him for a moment before he decided to lie next to him. "What did you want to show me?" Zack looked at him like he just said he had six toes, an eyebrow quirked. A small laughed escaped from Cloud's lips and he answered Zack's confused expression. "You said that you had something to show me."

Zack's face brightened. "Oh," he said, "yeah, I just said that for an excuse so Tiffany wouldn't think something, y'know." Cloud's face fell a little bit and Zack saw this. "Why, did you want me to show you something?" Cloud shrugged a little, which meant yes but he wasn't about to tell Zack what it was. "I'm sorry Chocobo, I don't have anything."

Cloud shook his head, blonde spikes bobbing. "It's okay," he muttered. "I think I was hoping that you'd, you know…" Cloud looked away, his cheeks turning red.

"Cloud…why is it that you're so curious about sex?" Zack asked, sitting up. Cloud shrugged a little, biting his lip. "Didn't you go to sex-Ed class?" Cloud nodded, making Zack sigh. "Cloud…"

"I want to hear it from you. You've been in the position that I probably will be, not that lady that was using a banana as a demonstration to put on condoms. If I ask someone like my dad or any adult, they'll just tell me that it'll hurt and use a condom or whatever. Zack, please…you know more about it than I do."

Zack sighed. He looked away from Cloud and pursed his lips, finally looking back into those beautiful blue eyes that were tempting. He shook his head and kissed Cloud's forehead. "You really want to know?" Cloud nodded, swallowing. "Honestly, I can't really tell you what you want to hear because it's almost like its unreal. I know what I said about the last two people I was with, but still…"

"Are you sure that you're not just making this up?" Cloud asked.

"I'm not making anything up, Cloud. It hurts at first but then it's almost as if you're falling. At least, that's how I felt. Wait that was making out with Angeal," he corrected himself. Cloud smiled. "I'd probably go into sex details but I think I just saw headlights in the window and I don't want to scar you for life."

"Oh," Cloud said, disappointed.

Zack laughed, standing up and stretching. "Of course, I could just give you a demonstration if you want…"

"Zackary Fair," Cloud scolded, making Zack laugh again. Cloud blushed and covered his face, still lying on Zack's bed. "Oh, I can't believe you." He felt a hand touch his and peeked through his fingers to see Zack's smiling face.

"C'mon Cloud, or else Tiffany's gonna come in here and accuse us of making out." Cloud smiled and took Zack's hand, following him out of his room and seeing Rick teasing his dad. His dad's face was turning bright red every time Rick would whisper something in his ear. He'd never seen his dad blush so much. "Oh, so that's where you get it from," Zack said, making Cloud groan and hide his face in Zack's shoulder. Zack laughed and kissed the top of Cloud's head. "I'm just kidding."

"No you're not," Cloud mumbled into Zack's shirt, looking up at him.

Zack ruffled Cloud's hair. "Maybe," he said, adding another kiss on Cloud's head. Cloud sighed and watched as Rick continued to tease his dad. A couple of times his dad would try to defend himself by lightly pushing at Rick or turning the other way but Rick would grab him and kiss him. Maybe he really did get his embarrassment from his dad. He already had his mother's looks. Zack tightened his hand around Cloud's and pulled him over to the couch, where they sat down together and watched the two adults pick on one another. Cloud put his head on Zack's shoulder, not really paying attention to his dad and Rick. He was happy that Zack gave him a little information, even if it wasn't detailed or anything. He sighed and inched closer to Zack, loving the fact that Zack was his boyfriend and that they'd get to spend time together.

* * *

Short chapter, I know.

Anyway, if you're wondering why there wasn't a chapter for last week, here's the reason:** I forgot.**  
No, I seriously did forget. That was Chrismtas week, right? Well, whatever, I was wrapping presents for everyone I live with and my granmda. Aaahh, if only I could've taken a picture of my closet, I would have showed you guys all the presents I wrapped. Anyway, yeah, there's the reason. I hope none of you are mad at me, especially with this stupid chapter that I gave you guys. Omigosh, now I feel bad... I'm sorry... *cries in a little corner*

Moving on. I like how Cloud and Zack both know that it's pointless to argue with each other. Haha, I think that's cute. Oh, and I also did some stuff to this chapter, like taking out a few "I love you"s.

Okay**, so I am going to mention something about Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep here. If you hate spoilers, please don't read. If you don't care, then read on. But this is a question to all of you that have passed the game**:

If Terra is supposed to turn into Xeh***** and Ven is supposed to be in ****'s heart, wouldn't that mean that Mansex, I mean... Xem*** and ***as are like best friends? Don't tell me if I'm wrong because I haven't passed the whole game yet. That was just a thought I had...


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

Cloud moaned, his eyes closed shut and his teeth grinded together. He bucked his hips up towards Zack's. His eyes squinted up at his boyfriend as Zack straddled Cloud's waist with his knees. One hand held Cloud's wrists together over the blonde's spikes. Cloud bucked a few more times, moaning. Just the feeling made him go crazy there between his legs and he loved it. He leant forward and kissed his boyfriend hard on the lips. He had to make some sort of distraction, but he couldn't think of anything else but kissing Zack.

"Zack please, just give it to me," Cloud whined, bucking his hips up several more times and squirming underneath the older teen. His boyfriend just huffed and shook his head, moving his lips to Cloud's ears. Until now, Cloud hadn't known what torture was.

"You have to tell me what I want to hear first," Zack said, his warm breath tickling Cloud's ear and neck. Zack's warm breath drove him crazy, he couldn't stand it. Cloud groaned, thrashing his head back. "Say it," Zack ordered huskily, making chills go down Cloud's skin. He felt so cold by the way he was shivering, but his body was burning up. The thought of having a flu crossed his mind, a Zack-kind-of-flu.

Cloud moaned and looked up at his boyfriend as Zack pulled away, loosening his grip on the blonde a little. "I love you," he said, hoping that that was enough for him. Zack shook his head and tightened his legs on Cloud's hips. Cloud groaned and looked down at the object that Zack was holding in his free hand. "Okay fine, yes, it was fun," Cloud answered.

Zack smiled and rolled off of Cloud, handing him the picture that he was holding. Cloud took the photo and set it on the night table beside his bed. Looking at it made his stomach drop and his heart feel smaller. It felt like his heart was drowning in a puddle of his own blood. He groaned and covered his face with his hands. Zack grabbed his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face, laughing. A dark shade of pink hit Cloud's face as he began to blush terribly. Zack always made him feel like this, it didn't matter what Zack did.

"I thought you looked adorable," Zack said, kissing Cloud's lips. Cloud kissed back, groaning as Zack looked at the picture again. "So why is it that you'll dress up for Tifa and Aerith, but you won't get all dolled up for me?" he asked, grinning. He wrapped an arm around Cloud's shoulders, pulling him close.

"That was like seven or eight years ago," he said, defending himself. "They made me do that and I did not like it at all."

Zack laughed. "Why not," he asked while putting on his puppy face. "You looked so cute with those little pink bows in your hair and that cute little princess crown. How did they even get you in that dress?"

Cloud shrugged and shook his head, sitting back on his elbows. "I don't know. I really don't. I was too focused on Aerith putting curls and bows in my hair to even notice Tifa slipping the dress on me." He groaned. "You will not speak of that to anyone," Cloud threatened, glaring at his boyfriend.

Zack lifted his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay I promise, but only if you let me have that picture." Zack grinned again, making Cloud's stomach turn.

"How do I know that you won't go showing it around to everyone?"

"Cloud, I promise that I won't tell anyone about your little princess act or show them the picture. So can I have it?"

Cloud pursed his lips in thought. The photo did haunt him whenever he looked at it and he would do just about anything to get rid of it. If his mom hadn't been a photographer, he probably would've burned the thing a long time ago. He knew that Zack wouldn't go around showing anyone and that puppy look was just so tempting. But through that puppy look, Cloud could see a mischievous grin. He didn't care though, grabbing the photo and handing it to Zack. Zack almost jumped into a backwards flip. He smiled as he held the picture in his hand and looked at Cloud, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thank you, baby," he said.

"You better hide that somewhere, and your pillow doesn't count as a hiding place," Cloud replied, almost regretting giving Zack the picture. Zack only smiled and kissed him again.

* * *

The dance was the only thing anyone was interested in talking about. Everyone went on about who danced with you, who kissed who, what songs were played, and how a sophomore and a freshman had sex in the boy's bathroom. Every time you would walk into the bathroom, there would be a group of teenagers talking about it. People even talked about walking to class and during class. Cloud and his friends didn't really care about what had happened. Yuffie and Rikku had already told everyone what happened, which was pretty much all girly stuff that Cloud never paid attention to.

Cloud was wondering about the picture that he'd given to Zack. He wanted to know where Zack had put it and if he'd told anyone about it. Questions ran through his mind wondering if it was a good idea or not. It wasn't that he didn't trust Zack, because he did. He was just worried that somehow it'd fall out of Zack's wallet, if that's where he had put it, and the whole school would see. His fear only turned into truth because things started to get really bad around lunch time…

"I don't know," Zell said, aggravated, "I never watched those movies."

Zack was ever so polite to pull out a chair for Cloud, which the blonde blushed at. He scooted Cloud up to the table and sat next to his boyfriend, scooting his own chair closer so that there was little space between them. Cloud felt his heartbeat quicken as Zack started to get closer. He smiled at his boyfriend and only blushed again when Zack began to share his lunch with the blonde.

"Just name one," Rikku said, obviously annoyed at Zell's whateverness to not appropriately answer her question.

"I don't have one," Zell replied.

"What's going on?" Zack leaned over to Lulu, whispering. He and Cloud had decided to be a little late to lunch since they both knew that the students in front of them would probably just be talking about the dance, and they didn't want to hear it for the umpteenth time.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. She looked at the three and shook her head. Lulu gave Cloud an unknown sympathetic look and then gave Zack a warning glare. "I don't think you want to know," she said, "and neither does Cloud."

Zack looked at his boyfriend, quirked an eyebrow and shrugged, shaking his head. He wasn't sure what the conversation was about, but by Lulu's reaction, it couldn't be good. "Uh, okay," he said.

"I always liked Cinderella," Rikku said. "Oh, and Sleeping Beauty."

"I liked Sleeping Beauty, she's a lucky girl to be able to sleep that long and not have to go to school," Yuffie said, receiving a long sigh from her sister. "Zell?" she asked.

"If I say one, will you leave me alone?" The two perky girls nodded. "Okay fine, I choose Rapunzel."

Rikku giggled. Zack's mouth dropped as he finally realized what everyone was talking about. He looked at Cloud nervously, biting his lip. Somehow, Yuffie and Rikku had found out about the princess thing. His heart dropped, trying to figure out how they could've known. He had kept his promise to Cloud and hadn't told anyone or even showed the picture to anyone. In fact, the picture was at home in a safe spot. Zack had the urge to hold Cloud's hand, but he didn't want to be too suspicious to his boyfriend. He even thought of pulling Cloud away from the group.

"What about you, Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

"What?" Cloud asked, not paying attention to the conversation.

"What's your favorite princess fairy tale?"

Cloud looked at Yuffie, to Rikku, to Zell, back to Yuffie, to Lulu, who shook her head, and then over to Zack. Yuffie and Rikku started to giggle and Zell just shrugged, obviously not knowing what was going on. "Zack," was all he was able to say.

Zack held up his hands in defeat as he felt his heart drop. "Honestly Cloud, I didn't…" Zack didn't have time to finish his sentence as Cloud got up and started walking away. Zack sighed, looked at Yuffie and Rikku once before he finally got up from his chair and followed his boyfriend. He heard their giggles fade as he had to almost run to catch up to Cloud. "Cloud," he called after his boyfriend. "Cloud, wait."

When he had finally caught up to him, he grabbed his wrist and spun him around. They were in the hallway now, but some students had walked by them and noticed. They stared or had to look twice. It wasn't anything that they hadn't seen before, though. There were a few other gays at their school but not many people knew about _their_ relationship.

"You said that you wouldn't show anyone or talk about it," Cloud said.

Zack opened his mouth to protest but then closed it when the blonde looked like he was ready to cry. He said the blonde's name before wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug. He heard Cloud mumble his name against his shirt. Cloud pulled back, looking away from Zack. "Cloud, I promise that I didn't show or even mention it to anyone. You know I wouldn't," he said, leaning forward and kissing Cloud on the nose.

"Then how do they know?" Cloud asked, still not looking at Zack.

Zack shrugged and sighed. "I don't know. Maybe Tifa saw it when she had Yuffie reach for my wallet, or maybe Yuffie noticed it."

Cloud sucked in a big breath. "Great, now everyone's going to call me Princess Cloud," he mumbled.

"No they're not," Zack said, chuckling a little. He took Cloud's hand and kissed it. "I'll beat them if they do."

Cloud looked up at Zack. "I love you," he said.

Zack smiled. "I love you, too."

Cloud stared down at the hand that Zack was holding and blushed. Zack noticed this and pulled him closer to him and wrapped his arms around his waist. "S-should we go back," Cloud said, nodding his head to the cafeteria. His arms folded across his stomach, but not because he was hungry, because he was nervous.

Zack shook his head and let go of Cloud. "Nah, Zell's probably finished our food right now. He probably dove right for my hot dog as soon as I left," he said, chuckling. He wrapped one arm around Cloud's shoulder and they started walking.

"Where are we going?" Cloud asked.

"I'm not sure. Where do you want to go?"

"I don't care, somewhere quiet," Cloud said, leaning closer and putting his head on Zack's shoulder.

"Okay, the library it is."

As the two entered the library, sitting on the available loveseat all the way in the back of the room, silence overgrew them. Only the sounds of the librarian shuffling books on the shelves and students typing away on the keyboards of a computer were heard. The loveseat squeaked a bit in protest. Zack picked up a book that was on a side table and looked at the cover before handing it to Cloud. Cloud just smiled and let his head rest on Zack's shoulder as he opened the book and started skimming through the pages.

"I like that one," Cloud said, pointing to a small poem.

Zack read over it a few times before shaking his head and ruffling Cloud's hair. "That figures," he said, kissing the side of his head.

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't know, it just sounds like you." Zack read the poem again, pursing his lips. "Since when have you been a big fan of poetry?"

Cloud shrugged. Their voices were low and quiet but the librarian and other students still looked at them. Two boys sitting on a loveseat reading poetry, with one boy's head on the other boy's shoulder, wasn't very common to see in a school. At least, for them it wasn't something that they saw everyday.

"What about your dad? He likes reading," Zack said.

"It could be," the blonde replied. "He doesn't read a lot of poetry though."

"Okay, then what about your mom? Did she like poetry?"

Cloud sat there for a moment, thinking about what everyone had told him about his mother. He'd seen a lot of pictures of her but he hardly knew anything about her. She was into photography, he knew that much. "Y'know, I'm not sure."

Zack just smiled at him and sighed. "When is lunch over?" he asked, looking for a clock.

"In about ten minutes," Cloud answered. "Zack?" he asked. Zack made a soft humming noise. "Do you think we'll be together forever?" he whispered, blushing.

Zack kissed his head. "Of course, I can't let you go now."

Cloud smiled. "For some reason, it just seems easier to tell you that I love you more than anything else," Cloud said.

"Why is that?" Zack asked.

"I don't know, probably because before it would hurt my stomach just thinking about those words. But now I have someone to say them to," he replied.

"You're cute," Zack said.

Cloud blushed, crossing his arms. He groaned. "Why do you always say that?"

"I know it makes you blush," Zack said. "And I love seeing you blush."

The blonde groaned and hid his face in Zack's shirt. Zack chuckled as the bell rang and students sprang from the hallways, eager to get to the third hour of lunch or back to class. Zack got up from the loveseat and held out his hand to Cloud. The blonde wrapped his hand around Zack's and let his boyfriend lead him out of the library and into the cluttered hallways. They stood outside of the library for a few seconds as some freshmen ran past them. Zack had to pull Cloud back so that the poor blonde wouldn't get trampled in the stampede.

They started walking after that and Cloud realized that they weren't walking back to their classroom. He didn't really know where they were walking to. He had hardly ever been down the hallways that they were going, mainly because the only people that ever walked these hallways were the kids that got detention all the time.

Zack looked over at Cloud and smiled. He stopped walking and pulled the blonde closer to him, automatically wrapping his arms around Cloud's waist. Cloud put his hands over his chest and looked at Zack.

"What?" Cloud asked him, wondering what his boyfriend was up to.

Zack shook his head. "Nothing," he said. He leaned towards the blonde and kissed his right cheek.

Cloud blushed and smiled a bit. Zack's kiss moved to his ear and started nibbling and Cloud raised one of his hands and lightly smacked Zack across the head. "What about the cameras?" He felt lame for asking that sort of question, but he couldn't help it. He didn't want some perverted teacher watching him and Zack make out in a hallway and possibly submit it somewhere on the internet. At least half of the school would see it and he didn't want to go through the humiliation of everyone looking at him and pointing, whispering that he was the one in that video.

"They don't work," Zack said, leaning in to kiss Cloud again. But the blonde put both of his hands on Zack's chest and pushed the older teen back.

"What if someone sees us though?"

Zack smiled. Cloud was just too cute. He knew that it was a big change that someone would walk by and see them, and it was an even bigger chance that a teacher would be the one to see them. But he wasn't about to tell Cloud that. It wasn't that he wanted them to get caught making out, he just didn't want Cloud to know.

"No one really comes down this hallway," Zack replied, tightening his arms around Cloud's waist so the blonde couldn't escape. His heart fluttered when the blonde made a small noise that a baby kitten would make. He kissed Cloud's nose and felt his boyfriend's hands connect behind his neck. Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's lips, only to have Cloud pull away.

"If we get caught though…"

"We won't," Zack assured.

Cloud gave him a look before he sighed and nodded. Zack smiled and connected their lips. Cloud's eyes slowly closed. The kiss was heavenly to him and it made his heart feel as if it were riding waves. The way Zack held him, how Zack's hands caressed his sides, the smooth feeling of Cloud's lips against his… It was all magical. He sighed into the kiss and felt Zack pull away for air, only to start kissing his neck. Cloud giggled and jumped as Zack's lips tickled the flesh.

"Zack," Cloud moaned.

"Hm," was all that Zack said to him as he started nibbling on Cloud's ear.

Cloud yelped a little, smacking his hand over his mouth. The pressure of his hand covering his mouth increased as he wanted to scream Zack's name now. "Zack," he muffled behind his hand.

Zack looked up at him. "Yeah," He saw Cloud covering his mouth and quirked an eyebrow. His lips pursed because of a habit and he smiled when he realized why his boyfriend was covering his mouth. He chuckled, only to receive a smack across the head. That only made him chuckle more though. He smiled at Cloud and tightened his arms around him in a squeezing hug. "I love you."

"I love you too," Cloud said, uncovering his mouth. "Can we go back to the classroom now, though?"

Zack shrugged, still smiling. He looked at Cloud's big, blue innocent eyes watching him. He kissed Cloud's cheek and took his hand. "Sure," he said.

* * *

As Friday came, so did spring break. Students ran out of the building, preparing to start their break right away. Cloud held Zack's hand as they walked into the parking lot and over to Zack's car. The two were talking with Zell and Yuffie until Lulu pulled the two away from the couple and said that it was time for them to get home. Cloud smiled at their disappointed faces and Lulu's annoyance.

"Hey Zack," Cloud said, getting into the passenger side of the car.

"Yeah, babe," Zack asked, pulling his seatbelt over himself.

"I've always wanted to ask this, but never really got to it. Does Zell _live_ with Lulu and Yuffie?"

Zack nodded. "Pretty much," he said. "Well, it's more like he stays there for most of his life and goes back to his parents for about an hour or two."

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"They don't really accept him," Zack explained. "Not just because he's gay, but because of how he always gets into trouble. And his tattoo," Zack added. "They're really strict," Zack said, shaking his head.

Cloud slid next to Zack, snuggling into him. "You've never really told me about _your_ parents," he said.

Zack looked straight at the other cars moving away from the school. "Yeah," he muttered, putting the key in the ignition and turning the key. As soon as the engine started, Zack put it in drive and started driving. "I can't really consider them my parents though," Zack said.

Cloud nodded, sighing. "Yeah," that was all he could manage to say. He looked up at his boyfriend's face and bit his lip, trying to think of how to change the subject. "So," he started, causing Zack to glance at him and back at the road. "What are we going to do over the break?"

Zack shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "What do you want to do?"

Cloud bit his bottom lip harder, the skin underneath peeling. He mentally slapped himself for it too because he knew that was how his lips always got chapped. His heart began to race in a pattern that made his head throb and the blood running through his veins pump faster, which only made his heart beat more rapidly. "You know," he answered.

Zack looked at him as he came to a stop sign. He sucked in a deep breath and let it all out in a heavy sigh. Cloud felt his stomach twist as he already knew the answer. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?" Zack asked as he continued driving. Cloud could hardly believe what he was hearing. He nodded quickly that his head began to hurt. His chest tightened and he wanted to run all over the place in excitement. "Okay," Zack said.

Cloud's face broke out into an idiotic smile and he hid his face in Zack's shoulder. He wanted to squeal like a little girl. His face started to heat up and become red just thinking about it. He was going to finally have sex, no, _make love_ with Zack!

* * *

Yeah... So, don't be surprised if I don't upload next week, because I'll either forget or it's because I'm working on the future chapters of this story. OKAY! I CONFESS, imworkingonsomethingelse... Oopsies. Did ya'll get that? I'm working on a different story that isn't Cloud and Zack or Final Fantasy VII.

Hooray! I'm starting to write Kingdom Hearts fanfic again. I already have two new ones in mind. They're both BBS related, but not game related. Does that make sense. Okay anyway, the first one is about Zack and Ventus being horny teenage lovers with another pairing that I'm not mentioning. The second is about a new pairing that I didn't think I'd ever like, I didn't even think I'd like this character. Here's hint, Ventus is in the relationship. Who's the other person? It's not Terra, it's not Aqua. It's not even a hero...sort of. YAY, it's VANITAS.

Yes, I'm sorry but I love that little creeper. He has Sora's voice, but it's darker and sexier. And he's also sarcastic and cocky.

This just makes me wonder...how many **BOY** readers do I have? I try to think of that when I'm writing. (Don't ask why)

So, about the story. Chapter 27 is going to mega-edited. Oh yeah, and some of you said that you wanted more drama. Well, there is. It's just later on in the story and it concerns one of our blondes. Tee-hee.

Welp, until next week, or the week after that.  
~XO~


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

Zack pulled into Cloud's driveway and turned the engine off. He looked over at his boyfriend and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, kissing him on the side of the head. He smiled at him and his smile grew as Cloud's lips started to pull into a shy smile. Zack grinned and kissed Cloud on the nose and then on the cheek.

"You have such a beautiful smile," Zack said.

Cloud hit his boyfriend's arm. "Do not," he mumbled, throwing his face into Zack's shirt as he started blushing.

Zack kissed Cloud's hair. "Yes you do," he assured. He sighed, resting his head back against the seat. He pursed his lips and stared at Cloud's house. "Is your dad home?" Cloud shrugged, looking up at the older teen. Zack looked over at him and smiled.

"Zack," Cloud asked. "When are we going to…you know?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. We can't really decide randomly unless we want your dad, Rick or Tiffany to find us doing it." Cloud shivered at the thought of his dad walking in on him and Zack. He could just hear the lecture that they would get. "We'll just have to find a date that we'll have to ourselves. Unless you're one of those dare devils that would take the risk of doing it in the bathroom, dressing room, or wherever," he said, making Cloud blush. He added, "And I know that you aren't."

"Do you know if Rick and my dad are going anywhere?" Cloud asked. Zack shook his head. "Should we ask them?"

"Maybe," Zack said, "but we don't want to be too obvious, like we're planning to do something."

"But we _are_ planning to do something," Cloud said.

Zack chuckled, opening the car door. "I know," he replied, "but we don't want them thinking that."

Cloud followed him until they were in his house. Zack plopped himself on the loveseat when he saw that Cloud's dad wasn't home. Cloud walked around his house for a few moments, opening and closing doors. When it was obvious that his dad wasn't there, he sat down next to Zack and found himself being pulled into a hug. He squeaked a little in protest, making Zack chuckle.

"I love you," Zack whispered in Cloud's ear.

Zack's breath tickled against Cloud's ear, making him squirm. Zack noticed this and only made it worst by taking his earlobe between his lips. Cloud tried to hide his ear in the crook of his neck but that didn't work. He laughed a little when Zack's lips touched that certain spot that made him go crazy.

"Stop," Cloud whined, giggling as Zack's lips kissed him here and there. He gasped when his tongue touched that spot, his eyes fluttering back.

"You're so easy to tantalize," Zack said with a grin.

Cloud moaned, squirming and trying to get away from Zack, but trying to melt within him all together. His breathing deepened when Zack pinned his back to the cushions, his hands framing his hips. Zack's hands teased at the edge of Cloud's shirt, his fingers dancing. When they slid up behind the cloth, Cloud shuddered. Zack circled Cloud's bellybutton teasingly. He leaned down, breathing on the blonde's neck. Cloud squirmed underneath his boyfriend and grabbed the back of his hair, pulling him down into a malicious kiss.

Zack pulled back, surprised but very turned on. Cloud blushed and tried to hide his face but Zack only kissed him, his finger still circling his bellybutton. "I love you so much," he said.

"And you know that I love you too, but I'm really uncomfortable right now," Cloud said.

Zack got up from Cloud and held out his hand. Cloud took it as Zack pulled him close to his chest. He received a soft kiss on the lips, a thousand emotions running through his head. There was a sound of a car pulling into the driveway, but Cloud didn't pay attention to it, he only wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and began position himself so that he was sitting on his boyfriend's lap. Zack didn't say anything or do anything; he was kind of curious how Cloud would react when his dad, and possibly Rick, walked in and saw them kissing there on the loveseat. He wanted to see Cloud's face, see that beautiful blush that made him look so innocent.

The door opened, making Cloud jump up and look to see who was coming in. Obviously, he knew who it would be but he still looked up, staring at his dad. Steve closed his eyes and shook his head. Cloud was sure that he was about to get lectured, or maybe even grounded, but that changed when Rick grabbed his dad's arm for attention. The older couple looked at each other and Steve seemed to remember something about Rick because a big smile crossed his face and he grabbed his boyfriend's hand. Cloud looked down at Zack and groaned, hiding his face in Zack's shoulder. Zack laughed and watched as Steve led Rick to the kitchen and whispered something in his ear. Zack watched as the two went back and forth, whispering stuff in each other's ear.

"Zack," Cloud groaned, causing Zack to look down at him. "Why didn't you tell me that someone was here?" Cloud asked, pulling away from Zack.

Zack could see that his face was all red and he smiled at this. "You didn't give me a chance to," he lied.

Cloud slapped his bicep, making Zack laugh. "Meanie-face," Cloud muttered, getting off of Zack's lap. He stared at his dad in the kitchen with Rick. He was smiling at whatever Rick was whispering in his ear, blushing a few times. "What do you think they're talking about?" Cloud asked.

Zack shrugged, not paying attention to the two and instead, smiling at Cloud. "I'm more focused on what you're thinking," he said.

Cloud blushed. "I'm thinking about what _they're_ talking about," he replied, getting a chuckle from Zack.

"Let's go to your room," Zack suggested, wrapping his arm around Cloud's shoulders. Cloud blushed, looking away from Zack. "It's not like we're going to do anything."

Cloud shook his head. "Yeah, but they don't know that."

Zack sighed. "Cloud," he started, but never finished what he was going to say.

Steve and Rick came into the living room, sitting on the couch together. Cloud watched as his dad continued to whisper things in Rick's ear, and as Rick said things that made his dad smile or blush. He hated to admit it, but he was kind of jealous that they could be so free with each other. His and Zack's relationship wasn't like theirs, where they could just kiss each other wherever and whenever. They could touch one another and not be ashamed or afraid that someone would find out. Cloud could walk in on his dad and Rick making love together and do nothing but walk away. They were open together, able to tell each other things in front of other people. The thought made Cloud's heart rise.

Rick leaned over and kissed Steve on the cheek, smiling when he pulled away. Their hands intertwined and both of them looked at Cloud and Zack. Cloud was playing with his hands and Zack had his head back against the loveseat, pretending to watch TV.

"So," Rick said, causing the young couple to look at him, "do you two have any plans for your spring break?"

Both of them looked at each other and knew what the other was thinking, but they couldn't say it. It'd be like telling your parents that you were having sex. Oh wait, it was telling your _parent_ that you were going to have sex.

"We haven't decided yet," Zack said, taking Cloud's hand in his. "What about you two? You guys seem to be pretty excited about something."

Rick and Steve looked at each other and smiled. "Should we tell them?" Rick asked. Steve shrugged, smiling. "I'll take that as a yes," he said, kissing Steve's cheek. He looked at them, mostly at Zack, but then at Cloud. "I think you should tell them," he suggested, nodding towards Cloud.

Cloud's heart began to race in his chest, thinking of all the things that his dad could say. Steve let go of Rick's hand and that was all it took for Cloud to know why his dad was so smiley today. He swallowed, his palms sweating and his throat drying up. He looked down at the floor, hoping to find something as a distraction. The only thing he could find, though, was feet and those feet were connected to bodies that belonged to either Rick or his dad.

"We're getting married, Cloud," Steve said, holding up his hand, showing Cloud the ring on his finger.

Once the words were said, once the ring was crystal clear, he lost all words that he had prepared years ago when he thought his dad would remarry. When he was a kid, he probably would've jumped on his dad's lap and hugged him. If he was a little older, around twelve maybe, he would've just said congratulations. But now that that day had finally come, he wasn't sure what to say. He opened his mouth, only to have a small croak come out. He smiled, hoping that would be enough for them.

And it was. Rick and Steve smiled at him and then smiled at each other. They stood up and walked back into the kitchen, continuing their sweet whisperings. Only this time, Cloud _knew_ what they were talking about. And now that he knew, he wished that he didn't. He looked over at Zack, who was starting to fall asleep. He squeezed his hand, making Zack jump a little and look down at him.

"Let's go to my room," Cloud said.

Zack shrugged and stood up after Cloud did, following his blonde boyfriend to his room. He took his spot on the bed, spreading himself out on the mattress. Cloud didn't sit but just stood there beside his bed, staring at his boyfriend.

"What do you think?" Zack asked. Cloud looked at him, confused, narrowing his eyes and bringing his eyebrows together. "About your dad and Rick getting married," he said. Cloud's face softened and he shook his head.

"I don't know what to think about it," he admitted. "Honestly, I'm not very fond of it but I can't really say that to him." Zack sat up at his boyfriend's words. "I can't just tell him that because then he'll think that I don't want him to get married because I do."

"But in a way you don't," Zack implied.

Cloud nodded, sitting on the bed with his back turned towards Zack. "He'd take it the wrong way though and call off the wedding just because of how I feel," he said, "and I don't want that. I want my dad to be happy."

Zack reached for Cloud's hand and pulled him towards him, kissing his lips. He ran a hand through those fabulous blonde spikes that seemed to haunt him in his dreams, but in a good way. "So it seems that we'll get to have just about any date to ourselves if they're going to be together like that," Zack said, sort of changing the subject "or if they start planning the wedding." Zack looked over at Cloud's desk and the picture of Rain, Cloud's mother. He sighed. "Is that what this is mostly about?" Zack asked, nodding towards the photo.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like a knew her that well to really be attached but I think that could be the reason."

"You don't have to know your mother to be attached to her, Cloud," Zack said.

"I know," Cloud said, biting his lip.

Zack felt bad that Cloud didn't know his mom. She looked like a really nice person, someone that would be there for all of Cloud's problems. He couldn't help but wonder, though, if he and Cloud would still end up in a relationship though if she were still alive. It tore his heart apart to think that he wouldn't know Cloud. Or maybe Cloud would be his first at everything; maybe they would've grown up together and he would've never gotten hurt by all of his past loves. Zack shook his head and kissed the top of Cloud's head. "We're still going to have to have a specific date though," Zack said.

"I know," Cloud repeated. His voice sounded sad and Zack couldn't help but hold him close and squeeze him tight as he gave him another kiss, only on the cheek this time. Cloud sighed, pulling away from Zack.

"What do you want to do?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't care," he said.

Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's lips. A knock on Cloud's bedroom door made them pull away from each other. The door opened to reveal Steve and Rick standing next to each other, holding hands.

"Zack, we should get home before Tiffany sends out a search party for us," Rick said.

"Okay," Zack said, standing up. He started to follow Rick and Steve away from Cloud's room but stopped, making Cloud almost bump into him. "Sorry," he said, wrapping his arms around Cloud's waist. Cloud sighed when Zack kissed him. "I had to tell you that I love you before I left," he said with a grin.

"Love you," Cloud said with a blush. He felt empty when Zack pulled away. He followed his boyfriend out into the living room, where Rick was waiting for him. Rick said something about driving, making Zack scoff at him and dig out the keys from his pocket. Cloud smiled at this and watched as he tossed the keys to Rick, as it had seemed that the older couple had used Steve's car.

Zack kissed Cloud one more time, making Cloud blush. He still wasn't quite used to being kissed by Zack in front of his dad. Cloud sighed when the sound of the car's engine faded away. He smiled to himself and sat down on the loveseat, looking at the empty seat next to him.

"Cloud," Steve said, causing Cloud to look up at him. "Are you okay with me and Rick getting married?" he asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I think it's nice that you two are finally…"

"That's not what I meant," his dad said. "Are you okay with the fact that I'm going to be marrying someone in probably the next year or two?"

He couldn't do anything but nod again. "If you're getting married in a year or two, well, then I'd be going off to college or moving in with Zack," Cloud explained.

Steve sighed, sitting in the recliner. "I need to talk about you and Zack," he said. Cloud felt his heart start beating fast. "It's nothing bad, Cloud. I just want to ask you what you guys are doing over the break," he said.

"I thought Zack already told you guys that we haven't decided on anything yet," Cloud said, looking at the floor.

"Zack told us," Steve said, "I want to know what you have to say though."

"I'm not sure yet," Cloud answered, biting his lip.

"Cloud," Steve said, "I just want to ask you if you and Zack have…"

"No," Cloud said, shaking his head violently. "What would make you think that?"

Steve sighed, shaking his head. "Well, you were sitting on his lap when we walked in." Cloud blushed. "And you two always seem to be joined at the hip."

Cloud shook his head. "That doesn't mean that we've had sex," he answered. In his head, he thought _yet_.

His dad nodded. "I know, but I just want to make sure that you don't rush into things and regret it later."

_Really, Dad; isn't that what _you're_ doing?_

_

* * *

_

"So it seems that Tiffany is going out with some friends or hers, and Rick and Steve are store-hunting for wedding stuff," Zack explained, lying back on his bed.

"When is this, again?" Cloud asked.

"On Wednesday," Zack answered. "Rick told me yesterday. You know, I think he knows that we're planning something and he's trying to distract your dad from whatever."

"Good," Cloud said, sitting down on the floor by Zack's bed, resting his head against the comforter.

"What do you mean _good_? Are you and your dad fighting?" Zack asked.

Cloud shook his head, looking up at Zack. He didn't really want to tell him about the little talk that he'd received two days ago, but if he kept it inside him any longer he would burst. "No, he thought that we had had sex already," Cloud explained. "I guess because we're always together, but I thought that was what couples were supposed to do." Zack smiled at him and crawled onto his stomach, his head next to Cloud's. "What?" he asked while looking into his boyfriend's eyes.

Zack shook his head. "Nothing," he said, leaning towards Cloud so that they could kiss. His eyebrows furrowed, though, when Cloud didn't kiss back. He pulled away, looking at his boyfriend. "What's wrong?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just thought that this would be easier, you know, since my dad wouldn't leave me alone until I told you how I felt."

A smile crossed Zack's face. "You two had a little bet?" Zack asked in a sing full tune. Cloud nodded and began to blush a little. Zack cooed at him, which only made him blush more. "Who won?"

"He did, obviously, because we're together," Cloud said, "but I told him that I'd only tell you how I felt when he told Rick. And then he told him one day but I wasn't ready to tell you just yet." Zack smiled. "And then things just got complicated and…I don't know," he said.

"I love you, Cloud." Zack leant forward to kiss him again and, this time, Cloud kissed back.

When they pulled back, Cloud asked, "Do you think we're moving too fast?"

Zack shook his head, kissing Cloud's neck. "Not as fast as your dad and Rick," Zack said, leaving a trail of kisses on Cloud's flesh.

"That's what I thought, but I didn't want to say anything to him." Zack made a noise that sounded like _uh-huh_, or _mm-hmm_. Whichever it was, it made a vibration feeling go through his skin. He moaned and shuddered at the feeling, his heart sinking into a pool of Zack. "Zack…" Cloud moaned.

Zack made a humming noise, sending vibration feelings again. Cloud found Zack making his way to sit next to him on the floor. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and forced their lips together, bruising each other's lips. He sucked in a cool breath when Zack's hands slide around his waist and up the back of his shirt. He moaned into Zack's mouth, squeaking in protest when Zack lifted him up and sat him on his lap.

Cloud pulled back, looking at his boyfriend. "Are you going to tell me if someone's coming in?" he asked, teasingly.

Zack never thought he'd ever hear Cloud use a seductive-like voice. He admitted that it made him groan. He shook his head as Cloud smiled cutely. The blonde was like…well, Zack couldn't really explain it. And it was kind of hard to explain as the blonde kept nibbling on his earlobe. Zack began to kiss Cloud's neck again, nibbling a bit.

Cloud threw his head back and groaned in a surprised voice. He licked his lips as muffled sounds escaped his mouth. He was about to start kissing Zack's earlobe again, but stopped when Zack's hands began to rub up his back. Zack smiled up at him and kissed his nose once before kissing his lips. Cloud blushed, moving his hands over Zack's chest. He stared at the zipper of Zack's jacket and bit his bottom lip in wonder. He loved how that zipper seemed so inviting, so intense…

When Cloud's delicate fingers started to reach for his zipper, Zack held his breath. He watched as shaking fingers grabbed the small object and his hand pressed firmly against his chest. Slowly the zipper reached the end of the clutch and the jacket fully opened, falling at Zack's sides a bit.

Cloud swallowed and felt his breathing start to quicken. He rubbed his hands down Zack's chest that was covered with a T-shirt. His hands found their way to the hem of the clothing, lifting Zack's shirt up a bit so that his stomach was showing. Cloud's shaking fingers trailed up to Zack's bare chest, making Zack lick his lips.

Zack groaned a bit, lowering his hands down to Cloud's butt. He squeezed the squishy flesh behind jeans, causing Cloud to jump. The blonde's hands were clumsy, but they felt nice on his bare skin. The fact that they were cold made Zack pull Cloud closer and kiss his lips. He felt those cold hands make their way to his belt, stopping at the forbidden entrance. Zack looked down at Cloud's hands, wanting to gain access so bad. He looked at Cloud's facial expression and saw that it was blank. Not thinking, he reached for his belt and undid the loops and clasp.

That left the button and zipper on his jeans…

Cloud undid those nervously, his lip quivering as he did. He didn't want Zack to notice so be bit down on the already chapped flesh. The sound of Zack's zipper coming down made his heart squeeze. His hands stopped there for a moment and finally went back up to his boyfriend's stomach. He slowly made a trail, feeling confident when Zack shivered at the ticking sensation of his fingertips. For a short moment, he stopped at the elastic of Zack's boxers. One of his hands trailed up to his chest and the other slid down the warm fabric as Cloud smashed his lips with Zack's.

The feeling of Cloud's hands touching him _there_ made Zack see dancing stars. He couldn't close his eyes when Cloud kissed him because his eyes were glued to the door, waiting for any moment when the doorknob might turn. Scenes of how bad it would be if someone were to walk in and find Cloud sitting on top of Zack's lap, with one hand down his pants and the other toying with his chest. Cloud's lips moved to his neck, but they didn't do anything. It was as if Cloud was hiding his humiliated expression in Zack's neck, breathing slowly but heavily on the flesh.

Zack groaned when Cloud's hand shifted in his boxers. One of his fingers stroked him carefully and the others soon followed. Cloud made a small grunting sound in Zack's shoulder. Zack's hands held Cloud's hips as they started to thrust slowly across him. Cloud kissed Zack's lips, moaning when Zack licked his tongue across his chapped lips.

"Cloud," Zack panted, trying to pull away from his boyfriend but Cloud kept kissing him. "I…uh, I think we need…we need to stop before, huh…before…"

Cloud pulled away, looking at his boyfriend and licking his top lip. "I… What do you mean?" he asked.

"Do you really want Tiffany, Rick, or worst, your _dad_ to come in and find you sitting on my lap with your hand down my pants," he said, and added, "and our tongues possibly wrestling?"

A blush appeared on Cloud's cheeks. He took his hand out of Zack's pants and pulled his hand from Zack's chest. "I guess not, but…"

"Yeah, I know," Zack said, reaching for his zipper. "I can't wait for Wednesday, either."

Cloud blushed again. "Did I moan loud?" Cloud asked. Zack shrugged. "Was I, you know, good at anything?" he asked, blushing even more.

Zack chuckled as he redid his belt. His arms wrapped around Cloud's waist. "You were great," Zack said, kissing Cloud's lips.

"That-that's not what I meant…"

"Yes," Zack said, "you were amazing. It's cute how your hands shake and you're so nervous at everything, I love it."

"I love _you_," Cloud stated and put his head on Zack's shoulder but quickly pulled away, making Zack to look at him worriedly. "Sorry, but I was just wondering if we could cuddle on top of the bed instead of next to it," he said.

Zack smiled. "Of course we can," he answered, picking Cloud up and putting him down on the bed. He climbed in next to him and wrapped his arms around him, smiling even more when Cloud was practically laying on top of him. "Do you want to get under the blankets?" he asked.

It took Cloud a while to reply, but his answer was grabbing the end of the comforter and pulling it underneath himself and Zack. The difficulty was covering their selves up while they were already on top of the bed, but they somehow made it possible. Cloud positioned himself again, sighing as his arm tightened around Zack's waist. Zack put his head against Cloud's and closed his eyes. The bed was small and they had to mash together in order to fit, but it was still all too comfortable as they both fell asleep rather quickly.

* * *

Hahahahaha X3  
I bet all of you were expecting a nice sex scene, and instead, YOU GOT THAT! Bwahahahahahahahahahaha... HEY, I never said that they'd have sex in the next chapter. All I said was that it's coming up.

I'm really satisfied with reviews, and I hope most of you are satisfied with this story. Sadly, I didn't make any notes about your reviews like I usually do and I'm about to cry.

I have a perfect story for Vanitas/Ven coming up right after I write this story that causing me headaches. Wait, that's from the football game in the other room and the yelling of family members *face palm*. There needs to be more Vanitas and Ven, grr. I know it may be wrong, but I love that couple to death.

Anyway, review time!


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

"Can I ask you something?" Cloud asked, his right leg bouncing up and down nervously underneath the table. He circled his thumbs around each other and tapped his fingertips together.

Aerith nodded, smiling at him. "Sure," she said.

Cloud's face started to heat up from apprehension. He wasn't sure why it was so hard to ask. He laughed nervously and shook his head, his blonde hair shaking. The diner was deserted except for an elderly couple sitting in a corner together, a family sharing some sort of joke, and the employees working there. Cloud was a bit edgy that one of them would hear their conversation, but the family was laughing hysterically and the people in the corner were too far to even hear them. Still, though, Cloud had this feeling in the bottom of his stomach where it made his heart pound faster and his fingers shake. "It's about," he paused, looking around as Aerith took a sip of her milkshake, "sex," he whispered.

His face became red when Aerith giggled, smiling even more at him. Cloud's actions were so cute. She could see why Zack loved him, but Aerith didn't think that there was one person that could ever hate Cloud. Everyone of their friends adored him and the only reason why they tried to embarrass him was because he was so cute when he blushed, even Zack had told her that. "What about it?" she asked.

He shrugged. "I don't know, but I can't ask Zack and there's no way I'm going to ask my dad," he said.

"Why can't you ask Zack?" she asked, taking her straw between her fingers and twirling it around in circles.

"He doesn't like to go into details," Cloud answered, distracting himself with a napkin. He folded it until it couldn't be folded anymore and then unfolded it, only to repeat the process.

"Oh, I see. Okay, what do you want to know?"

Cloud was almost surprised that she was quick to give him the answers that he wanted. Honestly, _he_ didn't even know what he wanted to know. He just wanted to talk about it, to know what it was like before he actually took that step. "The parts that they don't teach in sex Ed," he answered.

Aerith shrugged. "I'm not going to lie to you, Cloud. That is the hardest part to explain. You have to truly experience it for yourself to really know what it's like. And it isn't like everyone has the same experience. Some people say that they'd wish they waited and others don't see why everyone made out like it was so great in the first place."

Cloud nodded. "I think I know what you're saying. This is Zack, though, and I'm just curious," he said.

"Maybe you should ask Yuna," Aerith suggested.

"Maybe," Cloud replied.

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind, since she's with that Tidus kid now."

"Okay," Cloud said. He was a little iffy on asky Yuna about Zack. Sure, she would know what he was like but that made Cloud disappointed. Disappointed of what, he wasn't sure, but he figured that it was the whole first-time thing. Still, either way, he was pretty excited that Zack would be _his_ first.

His heart was throbbing for Wednesday to come. Being a teenager and still a virgin could make you a little…needy. You could be even needier if you had never actually had a relationship until after you were seventeen.

* * *

Zack sighed at the line in front of him. He was anxious for this day to just end so that he could go see Cloud. But the blonde was hanging out with Aerith and whoever else, or if anyone else, had tagged along. Zell was standing beside him, hands behind his head. The blonde let out a deep sigh through his lips and Zack could tell that he was just as bored as he was.

"So," Zell said, trying to make the time go by, "when are going to diddle with Cloud?"

Zack's eyebrow shot up quickly and he looked at the blonde like he had grown another foot. Zell just grinned at Zack's face expression. "What? Did you just say…_diddle_?"

Zell nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that's what my grandma used to call it when she was around my grandpa. It's an old term, Zack, get with it. And it's a lot of fun to say other than _sex_ or _fucked_, or whatever kids these days have come up with."

"You know, it's like you went back in time over the weekend," Zack said, noticing that the line was slowly getting shorter.

Zell shrugged. "It happens," he said. "Of course, I did go see my grandma the last two days so that might explain it."

Zack shook his head, sighing. He didn't want to remember why he had become friends with Zell, probably one of the most weirdest and perveted, yet fun to be around teen he'd ever met.

"So answer the question," Zell urged, nudging Zack in the side..

Zack looked up at the ceiling and smacked a hand over his eyes, sliding it down his face. He glared at his friend. "If I tell you, you'll just blurt it out to everyone," he said.

"No I won't," Zell said.

Zack shook his head, sighing. He seemed to be doing that more often. _Maybe I'm maturing,_ he thought.

"What are we waiting in line for again?" Zell asked. Zack gave him a look and pointed at the item he was holding in his other hand. He looked at it, eyes widening. "Oh," he said.

When it was their turn to pay for their items at the counter, Zack was happy that he had picked out a few other items. He didn't want the lady behind the register to look at him if he had only put condoms down. It would've probably been worst if the woman behind the counter was about twenty years younger. She still looked at him, however, giving him a small smile and slowly gave him his plastic bag so that their hands just brushed. Zack shook his head and shuddered a little when he walked away from the counter.

Zack and Zell walked out of the store, heading straight to Zack's car. Zack drove out of the parking lot and drove to Lulu's house, since that was where Zell practically lived now. Zell said something about the strange _diddle_ word and ran up to the big house. Zack just shook his head at his strange friend and drove over to Cloud's, wondering if the blonde was home yet. He looked at the items in the back for a moment before pulling up to Cloud's driveway. He got out of his car and walked up to the door, lifting his hand and knocking three times. He waited until he heard someone shuffling around in the house. The door finally opened and he smiled when he saw a chocobo head that he recognized. Cloud smiled back at him and stepped aside so that he could come in.

"Hey Zack," he said, greeting his boyfriend with a hug as soon as he entered the house and the front door was shut.

Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist, kissing his lips in the process. "Hey, cutie," he said.

Cloud felt his heart rise in his chest. He pressed himself closer to Zack, burying his face in Zack's shirt, breathing in his sweet scent. He muttered something and Zack leaned closer to hear what he was saying. Cloud pulled back, blushing. "I'm not cute," he repeated, still smiling. Zack reassured him with a kiss behind Cloud's ear. "Okay, fine," he said, "I'm adroable."

Zack grinned and took a hold of Cloud's chin and lifted his face, kissing his lips again. His heart rose a little and he wanted to do so much more than kiss those soft lips that Cloud had. The kiss only lasted until Cloud got all jumpy, making Zack pull back in surprise. He smiled at Cloud's jitteriness. "What are you so happy about?"

He watched Cloud's shoulders slump up and then back down. "I don't know. I'm happy to see you," he said. Zack smiled, making Cloud blush a bit. "I missed you," he admitted.

Zack's smile widened. He pulled Cloud towards him again and kissed the side of his head. "I missed you, too." Zack looked around the house, but his attention went to Cloud again as the blonde started pulling him to his room. "Where's your dad?" he asked.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know," he said rather quietly. He blushed when Zack pulled him close and rubbed their noses together. "Want to go lay down," he asked. When Zack nodded, Cloud took his hand and led him to his room again.

Once they were on the bed, kisses were shared over and over. Zack kissed Cloud's lips, the corners of his lips, his cheeks, his nose, and back to those oh so sweet lips again. Cloud felt like he was flying on a cloud… He giggled at the bad pun, making Zack pull away and look at him, curiously. Cloud just shook his head though and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck, bringing him down for more kisses.

"What were you laughing at?" Zack asked, pulling away and making Cloud groan in protest.

"My thoughts," he answered. "Whenever you kiss me I feel like I'm floating on a cloud," he added, giggling to himself.

Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's nose. "You're a goof," he replied. Zack stood up on his knees and sat back against the wall that Cloud's bed was next to. Cloud sat up with him and smiled when Zack's arm wrapped around his shoulders. Cloud felt his face heat up when Zack kissed the side of his head. "Hey Cloud, when is prom?" Zack asked.

Cloud shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "I know it's towards the end of the year, around the first to middle of May. Why do you ask?"

Zack shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I wanted to see how much longer I had to wait."

"Wait for what?" Cloud asked.

"To ask you to go to prom with me," he answered, kissing Cloud's cheek. He laughed when Cloud blushed. "Will you?" he asked.

Cloud nodded. "Of course," he said, "you know I will."

* * *

When Zack had mentioned prom, Cloud had so many thoughts running through his head. When he went to bed that night, he had dreams about what prom would be like. Students at his school dancing in nice clothing, the room all decorated up nicely, and dimmed lights. He had even thought of a disco ball but thought that would be too classic-like. He wasn't sure how prom committees went.

There was one dream he had that really disturbed him. In every other dream he hadn't seen himself, just Zack looking totally hot and handsome. In this dream, however, everyone was dancing to a slow song. He was walking down towards Zack in a crowd of people slowly swaying back and forth. Zack held out his hand and Cloud took it. He led him over to a spot just for them and wrapped his hands around Cloud's waist. Cloud had immediately wrapped his arms around Zack's neck, blushing up at him.

"You look beautiful," the dream Zack whispered. He looked down at what Cloud was wearing and smiled, kissing his lips.

And at that sudden moment, Cloud realized what he was wearing. It was a pink princess dress all fluffed and puffed out. He blushed and looked around to see if anyone had noticed, but it was like they were too focused on looking at their dance partners to even know that he was there.

A mirror had popped out of no where so that Cloud could see himself properly. His reflection looked shocked. His blonde hair had grown to a certain length where he could put them up in braided pigtails; with little pick bows holding them together. A small diamond princess tiara was place gently on his head.

Giggles could be heard all around him and then he noticed that everyone had popped out of their trance and saw what he was wearing. Zack didn't say anything though, just tightened his hold on Cloud's waist and continued to dance. Cloud felt his breathing become hard and felt himself jerk up.

The moment he realized that he was safe in his bed, sleeping in pajamas and wasn't in some cutesy princess dress, he sighed in relief. He rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed once again, only out of annoyance this time. It was four in the morning and Cloud wanted to sleep. He laid his head back on the pillow but the images of him in that dress kept him awake.

He grabbed his cell phone from the side table and flipped it open, holding the red button down. A light shined in his face, making him react by blinking a few times. A picture of him and Zack popped up as his background and he smiled. He pressed a few buttons to go to a text message and began to lazily work his thumbs across the number pad. He knew that Zack always kept his phone on, even while it was charging.

After pressing send, he looked at the picture of him and Zack again. His phone stayed like that until the backlight faded and then turned black. He flipped it shut and then flipped it back open when it vibrated. He smiled at Zack's message and hit **reply**. It took him a few moments to think of what he wanted to say, or text, but when it finally came to him he had already cancelled the text message and dialed Zack's number. Pressing the earpiece up to his ear, he heard the device ring a few times before Zack's sleepy voice answered with a sloppy _hello_.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey yourself," Zack said. "What are you doing up at four? I always thought you went to bed early," Zack pointed out, yawning.

Cloud waited until the yawn end before he answered, "I couldn't sleep. Well, actually, I woke up from a nightmare," he admitted, blushing to himself.

"Aw," Zack cooed, "I can almost see you blushing right now." That made Cloud's face turn even redder. "What did you dream about?"

"You and me," he slowly answered, "at prom."

"That's not so scary. What, did I do something freaking?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head even though he knew Zack couldn't see him. "No, it wasn't about you. You looked hot," he said, blushing again.

"Well that's good," Zack said, but then stopped. "Wait, that means that there was something wrong with you. What happened?"

Cloud swallowed. "Well, we were dancing, you told me I looked…beautiful, and then I noticed that I was wearing a pink dress with braids and a tiara on my head," Cloud said. Zack was quiet on the other end, which was making Cloud wonder what he was thinking. Cloud groaned at the sound of Zack's chuckling. "Zack," he moaned, quietly enough so that his dad wouldn't come in thinking something else.

"What?" he asked, "It's cute. I can just see you wearing a dress." Cloud groaned a little. "Oh c'mon, Cloud, you gave me that picture of you. Of course I'm going to think it's cute. The dream couldn't have been that bad, could it?"

"You weren't the one in a _pink_ dress," Cloud said, irritation in his voice.

Zack chuckled again. "Aw, I'm sorry Chocobo, but it's just so cute."

"Please tell me that you're not going to make me wear a dress to prom," Cloud begged.

"Cloud," Zack started but never finished because Cloud's voice rang out.

"Zack, please," he said.

"Okay, I won't make you wear a dress," he promised. "You know I wouldn't make you do anything you didn't want to."

"Zack?" he asked.

"Yes, Cloud?"

"I love you," Cloud whispered.

He heard Zack chuckle. "I know you do," he said. Zack said goodbye to Cloud and hung up. He was about to go back to bed, but thoughts of Cloud in a dress haunted his mind. He grinned to himself at an idea. "Yeah, that might work," he mumbled to himself lazily before going to sleep.

* * *

Uggh, I had to take out a few things and then rework other things. Well kiddies, that's the chapter. I think it's rather short though. Then again, that's what happens when I don't get so much reviews. I'm KIDDING! This chapter was written waaaaaay before that.

Okay: let's go over some things.

1. Yes, _diddle_ is actually an old word that means "let's go have sex". There's a funny story behind that, but I won't explain. Look, all I'm going to say is that that's what my grandma knew what it meant when she was a kid and that _sex_ and _fuck _meant nothing to her. HA!

2. No sex, mwahhahahahahahahaha... And you guys thought that it would've come in this chapter. Pfft, yeah sure, like I'm just going to throw a sex scene right there. Right...

3. IS IT JUST ME OR IS THE WATER IN RADIANT GARDEN (IN BIRTH BY SLEEP) FREAKIN' PINK!

4. There needs to be more Vanitas/Ven, I don't care what you guys say. I'm a weirdo and I like weird pairings. OOooh, I have to add them to my list!. Pff, I don't have a list...*or do I?*

5. Five is a pathetic thing where I say go click that review button


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

Do you remember that feeling that you got in the pit of your stomach when you knew that you were getting what you wanted? Do you remember how you felt sneaking a peek at your unwrapped Christmas presents, or when someone told you what they got you for your birthday? Do you remember how your stomach turned? Did you ever feel like you'd throw up in excitement if you smiled? How about that feeling of a rushing moment when going down a roller coaster? Well, that's how Cloud was feeling right now. It felt like he was riding on a roller coaster, and the only way he was going to be able to get what he wanted, was if he went down the biggest hill.

Wednesday had finally come. It felt like years before this day would happen. The moment he had woken up from his slumber, he tossed the blankets aside and rushed to the bathroom. Christmas and his birthday put together couldn't compare to this day. He felt silly for acting like this but he couldn't help it. He had even pinched his arm a few times just to make sure that he wasn't dreaming. He wanted to skip around the house, but his dad was still home and he thought that it would be silly to do so. Plus, his dad would wonder why he was so happy, and Cloud knew that he couldn't come up a good excuse. Instead, he kept a goofy smile upon his face. Steve had asked him about the smile, however, but Cloud just shook his head and said that it was nothing.

It was something, though. Steve suspected that it was but never asked about it as Rick had just pulled into the driveway.

"Hey Cloud," Rick said, kissing Steve on the lips. Cloud gave a short wave from the couch after they pulled apart. "Zack said that you two have a date tonight," he continued.

"Yeah," Cloud said with that smile still on his face.

Rick grinned. "What kind of date are we talking about?"

Cloud blushed, grabbing a pillow nearby and hiding his face in it. He heard his dad laugh.

"Make sure you two use protection," Steve said, causing Cloud's head to snap up. He looked at his dad in disbelief, mouth gaped open.

"Dad," he whined, "you make it sound like we're going to have sex."

"Aren't you?" Rick asked. Cloud only blushed again. "See, your face says it all. Listen to your daddy, Cloud and use protection." To make things worst for Cloud, he winked.

Cloud hid his face in the pillow until they left. He decided to lie down until Zack came over. It was awkward for his dad to say that. He had always thought that parents were supposed to get all mad about their kids having sex. Maybe his dad didn't care because he had done it, too. He'd never bothered to ask how old his parents were when they had him but he figured that he could do the math. Just not right now; when Zack's car, or whoever's car he was borrowing, was parking in his driveway.

When the door opened, Cloud sat up really fast, giving him a head rush, and ran over to Zack and wrapped his arms around him. Zack's arms went around his waist and he kissed him on the lips, on the nose, and then back on the lips.

"Hey you," Zack said after they pulled apart.

Cloud smiled. "Hi," he almost whispered. Zack kissed his cheek and he sighed. And then he thought of his dad and Rick. "Hey Zack," he said, "Did you tell Rick about us…you know?"

Zack's eyebrow rose and he shook his head. "No," he replied. "Why, did they say something?"

"Yeah," Cloud said, watching Zack hold his breath, "but I thought parents were supposed to go all crazy when they found out that their kids were having sex."

Zack shrugged. "I guess some don't care," he answered. "I don't know. What did they say exactly?"

"Dad said to use protection when Rick mentioned that you said we had a date tonight. I tried to make it sound like we weren't going to, but I guess Rick knew that we were." Cloud paused for a moment, thinking of what to say. "It's just…weird."

"Yeah," Zack said, nodding. He looked at the digital clock on the TV and turned back to Cloud. "Anyway," he said in an excited voice, "how about we get started on that _date_ of ours?" Cloud blushed. Zack pursed his lips in thought for a moment and then his eyes brightened. "I know, let's go sit outside for a minute."

"Why?" Cloud asked, adding, "It's freezing."

Zack took the jacket that he was wearing off and put it around Cloud. "There," he said and grabbed Cloud's hand.

"Zack, I'm not wearing shoes."

"So," Zack said, "we're not going anywhere."

Cloud smiled and shook his head. His feet were freezing once he stepped outside though, and he had to sit cross-legged when they sat down on the porch. Zack wrapped his arm around the blonde and kissed the side of his head. Cloud blushed when Zack's lips ran across his ear. The sensation tickled a little and it made him giggle. Zack seemed to like this though since he kept repeating the process.

Giggle after giggle, Cloud's face became flushed. He tried to push Zack off of him playfully but found himself being picked up instead. Soon he was sitting on Zack's lap, staring straight into those eyes that had caused him so much pain before. Cloud smiled and rested his head on Zack's shoulder.

Zack kissed him and muttered, "You're too cute," in Cloud's ear.

Cloud still, and probably always would, blushed whenever Zack said that he was cute or that he loved him. His chest always got tight and his stomach dropped. The feeling felt good and it made him sigh. He looked at Zack's jacket and smiled even more.

"What are you so smiley about?" Zack asked, looking down at Cloud.

Cloud lifted his head a little and smiled again, hiding his face in Zack's neck. "You," he mumbled.

Zack just chuckled and hugged Cloud tightly. "Are you reading to go back in?" he asked. Cloud nodded and followed Zack back into the warm house. With Zack's jacket on though, and Zack being right there next to him, he didn't really pay attention to the cold weather.

At first they considered sitting on the loveseat and just cuddling each other. Cloud had other plans though and he pulled on Zack's hand to follow him to his room. They lay on the soft bed instead, just staring into each other's eyes. Zack smiled and played with Cloud's blonde hair. He loved the softness of it and how Cloud reacted whenever he touched the blonde spikes.

"I love you," Zack whispered, kissing Cloud's nose.

Cloud smiled and scooted closer to Zack. He made a soft sound in the back of his throat that sounded like a sigh and a purr. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud and held onto his waist, rubbing his hand up and down. "I love you, too."

Zack made a humming noise and closed his eyes. He kissed Cloud's lips, letting his lips linger on Cloud's for a while. "Are you ready?" Zack asked, watching as Cloud blushed and nodded his head against the pillow. "Okay," he said, sitting up. Cloud watched his boyfriend as he rolled on top of him, feeling his heartbeat quicken when their lips reconnected.

Cloud ran his hands down Zack's shirt, smiling a little when he realized that Zack was wearing one of those buttons up snap-on shirts. His fingers ran over each button, teasing his way down to the end of the shirt. Zack broke the kiss and looked down at Cloud's fingers making their way back up. He swallowed and felt his chest heaving, pulling away from Cloud and pulling the shirt open.

Cloud held his breath and slowly let it out when he saw that Zack was wearing a white tank top underneath. He touched the white fabric, running his hand across Zack's clothed stomach. Zack watched Cloud's hand before he decided to take it and brought it up to his lips. He kissed Cloud's fingers and then held his own hand out to the blonde. Cloud took his hand and wrapped the other one around Zack's neck, bringing him down for an uncalled-for kiss.

He felt Zack's fingers prying at the hem of his shirt, tickling the skin of his belly. They pulled apart and Cloud felt his shirt being pulled up. He had to sit up a little and raise his arms so that the clothing would come off. The cold of his room bit his skin as he heard his shirt being dropped to the floor. And just by that procedure, Cloud was trembling but it wasn't from the cold. His breathing started to match Zack's and he could hear his heart beating in his ears.

A small gasp escaped his lips when Zack's mouth pressed against chest. It wasn't exactly a slobbery kind of thing, where it would smell like spit and leave hickeys on his skin, but more of wet lips and kissing. Zack looked up at Cloud to see his reaction and kept kissing him when he saw the pleasured look on his face. However, when he noticed that Cloud was trembling, he stopped and pulled away.

"Are you okay?" he asked, panting.

Cloud nodded, mouthing hanging slightly open because he felt that he wouldn't be able to breathe properly if he had his lips tight together. His bottom lip quivered and he nodded slowly. He lifted a hand to Zack's cheek, only to realize that it, too, was shaking. "Y-yeah…" he said. He awkwardly rubbed Zack's cheek.

Zack cocked his head to the left. "Are you sure?" Cloud nodded again. "Are we going too fast?"

Blonde spikes shook left and right. In his mind, he told himself that they weren't going fast enough. "N-no, I-I'm just…nervous," he stuttered.

A smile crossed Zack's face and he discarded the button shirt, dropping it on the floor next to Cloud's. Zack undid Cloud's pants, slipping his hand inside past the fabric. Cloud jumped at the feeling, groaning as Zack's hand touched him _there_. He wanted to add that he was excited too, but felt that he wouldn't be able to get the words out. Zack slid his hand out and pulled Cloud's pants down to his knees, working their way off his legs. Cloud heard a thud and then the sound of Zack undoing his own belt and pants. He looked down at himself and saw that he was still in his boxers and socks.

Seeing the annoying fabric on his feet, he sighed softly and sat up, making Zack look up to see what he was doing. He smiled when Cloud pulled off the white socks and gently dropped them with the rest of the unwanted clothing. After Zack had gotten his belt and pants undone, Cloud took his hands and pulled the tank top over Zack's head, revealing the muscular chest that he had seen only a few times before and after they became a couple. Cloud explored Zack's chest with his finger, making it slide down to the older teen's abs.

Zack slid his pants down, showing off his black boxers, and pulled his feet out of the jeans. They and his socks had soon joined the rest of the party of discarded clothing, leaving both teenagers in their boxers. Zack pressed his stomach against Cloud's and kissed him on the lips. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck, tangling his fingers in his boyfriend's hair. He moaned into the kiss. Cloud's legs went up to where his knees bent, making Zack fit between them. Cloud felt happy. His stomach twisted and his heart leaped. Once they had pulled away, Zack rested his forehead against Cloud's.

"I guess this is it," he said, swallowing thickly.

"Yeah," Cloud managed to say. He coughed to clear his throat, as his voice had come out in a croaky kind of way.

"Are you ready?" he asked and Cloud nodded. "Are you sure? Once we do this," Zack started to say but he never finished. All he could do was watch how Cloud reacted.

"I want this," Cloud whispered.

Zack sighed and nodded, grabbing Cloud's light blue boxers. He pulled them down to his ankles and slid them off, pulling his own boxers off as well and watching as the seemed to drop to the floor in slow motion.

Finally being able to see each other completely naked for the first time, they both just stared at each other's bodies and touching skin that they had never really been touched before. Zack felt his heart rise as being Cloud's first ran through his head like a parade. His mouth dropped open a little and he slowly found his way to Cloud's butt cheek. He pinched the squishy flesh, making Cloud jump. The blonde's body was still trembling and his body had become hot. He fought back the urge to buckle his knees, just in case he kicked Zack.

Zack could tell that Cloud was anxious, but he didn't want to go too fast with things. He slowly fingered Cloud, trying not to add too much pressure. Cloud writhed a bit and gripped the sheets but the sound of him muttering Zack's name kept Zack going on with the process. He kissed Cloud's lips, hoping that that would calm him down. And it did, for a while, until the fingering became harder when more fingers were inserted. Zack slowed down a little. He thought about asking Cloud if he wanted to stop but he knew that Cloud would just say no. Cloud had been waiting for this for quite a while and Zack didn't want to ruin it for him.

All Cloud could picture was Zack's beautiful face, his kisses, stars, and flowers that began to dance. He wasn't sure if it was from the pain or the high of him being this close to Zack. He closed his eyes to concentrate on something that didn't involve pain, but he couldn't think of anything but Zack. After a while that seemed forever while his eyes were closed, Zack had stopped with the fingering and slouched off the bed. Cloud opened his eyes to see that he was putting a condom on. He tilted his head back and swallowed, almost choking on his own saliva.

Zack leaned over him and kissed Cloud on the lips. He muttered _I love you_ in Cloud's ear, making the blonde shiver. He felt Zack slowly entering him and bit his lip to hinder the pain. It worked for quite some time until Cloud opened his eyes and tasted blood on his lips. He saw that Zack had closed his eyes while he waited for Cloud to get adjusted. Cloud wasn't sure how he was supposed to tell Zack that he was ready, or when he was supposed to be ready. But a feeling deep inside him made him moan and Zack took that as his cue to start moving.

Cloud now knew what Aerith had meant when she said that it was indescribable. Cloud found his breathing to come out in soft moans in whatever way Zack touched him. He put one arm over his eyes to stop tears that he didn't want to spill down his cheeks. He wasn't sure why he was _crying_, but he supposed it was from the love making. Zack seemed to catch on to this as well because he took Cloud's other hand in his and squeezed it tightly. Cloud uncovered his eyes and watched as Zack rocked above him, his eyes watching him as well and his hair bouncing on his shoulders.

It was as if they were in another world together, one that they had created together just for them and no one else was allowed to come in. It was like the classroom at school. It was just the two of them, surrounded by love and passion. Everything that they did together revolved around them, following their every move. Cloud wanted to stay like this forever, just living in a world where only he and Zack existed. No one else mattered to them, nothing but each other was important. Politics didn't exist, money didn't mean anything, and the thought of two boys loving each other was overlooked.

Zack felt a shuddering movement in the pit of his stomach. It was formed with love and the passion that they had built together. His breathing had become ragged and he found himself pinching closer and closer to Cloud's body. Only after a severe pain behind his back and neck that he realized that Cloud was pressing their bodies together as his body's excitement soon came to a conclusion. Zack groaned at the sticky, hot feeling touching his skin and found that he was reaching his end as well. Cloud's inside tightened around him and fingers pressed into his back, leaving small scratches from the blonde's nails. Zack squeezed his eyes shut and with one, final thrust, he let out a groan and reached his climax.

For the longest moment, they stayed like that. Zack was still inside of Cloud, trying to slowly keep up the rhythm that they had made with a few more thrusts. His energy had finally died down though and he stopped, resting his head on Cloud's shoulder. Cloud gently wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and combed his fingers through Zack's hair as his breathing slowed down. He felt tired and weak, and sticky. Zack looked up at him and smiled, kissing his lips.

"Hey," he muttered voice dry from the fire that had burned just a few minutes ago. Cloud had opened his mouth to speak but only his lips moving and a strangled sound came out and he cleared his throat. "Are you okay?" Zack asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah," he said, closing his eyes.

Zack looked down at their bodies pressed together and smelled sex in the air. "We should probably get cleaned up," Zack suggested, making Cloud groan. "What?"

"Do we have to shower? I'm too tired to move right now," Cloud whined.

Zack only chuckled and kissed his lips. "No, we don't have to shower. I'll go get a wet rag," he said, kissing Cloud's lips again and pulled out of Cloud.

He disposed of the condom as soon as he was in the bathroom. The second thing he did was look at his sweating face in the mirror and shook his head, grinning and chuckling. He grabbed a small hand towel, running it under the cold sink water, wringing it out and turning the water off. He walked back into Cloud's room to find the blonde underneath the blankets. Zack sat down beside him, holding the towel over his stomach.

"It's cold," he warned the blonde and gently rubbed it over Cloud's belly. Cloud shivered and jumped at the feeling. "Sorry," Zack muttered, giving him a small smile and started rubbing the towel over his chest and stomach. He looked at their discarded clothes on the floor and grabbed his boxers. It was probably a bad idea but he hadn't worn them that long and he didn't have any other boxers with him. Plus, it was freezing. "Do you want your pajamas?" he asked and Cloud nodded.

Zack made his way to Cloud's dresser and pulled out the drawers that he knew held his boxers and pajamas. He set them beside Cloud, wondering if he should dress the blonde. Cloud sat up though and started to dress himself.

"You can borrow a pair of pajamas if you want," Cloud said, blushing as he pulled on his T-shirt from the floor.

Zack just smiled and walked over to the dresser and opened the drawer again, pulling out just pajama bottoms. He shut the drawer and pulled the pajama bottoms up. He saw that they fit him okay and wondered if they were long on Cloud. Zack threw his tank top over his head and climbed into the bed next to Cloud. Cloud's arms wrapped around Zack and held him close. Zack kissed his lips and watched as Cloud snuggled on his chest. Zack smiled.

"I love you," he whispered in Cloud's ear, kissing his hair.

Cloud made a humming noise. "I love you too," he mumbled.

Zack chuckled at Cloud's sleepiness. "You're so cute," Zack said. Cloud made the humming noise again and curled closer to Zack. Zack was wondering when Steve and Rick would be back, but he didn't want to move away from Cloud. The blonde looked peaceful as he started to fall asleep.

Zack started to think about what just happened a few minutes ago. He smiled and looked up at Cloud's ceiling. Cloud was just so wonderful. He felt that he was lucky to have someone just like Cloud, but then thought that Cloud might be the one thinking that instead of him.

He wasn't sure how to describe what they just did. He would admit that Cloud was one of the best lovers that he had had. Zack snuggled closer to the blonde and sighed. He smiled as Cloud made a small noise in his sleep and kissed his nose. Zack knew that he would be getting asked the next day if he and Cloud had "done it". Of course, he wouldn't really express it that way of just "doing it" or "having sex" because those terms just didn't seem suitable to describe Cloud. And if he dared to say Zell's fancy word, he knew that he would not hear the end of it.

To be honest, Zack didn't feel comfortable about blurting out to his friends that he and Cloud had finally made love. Usually he would be the one to give all the details about sex, or the one that would pry someone to give them information. Cloud was too special to be talked about like he was some whore or however the other guys at his school talked about their girlfriends. Zack didn't think that Cloud deserved to be treated like that. He loved the blonde so much that it made his heart ache.

Cloud's soft breathing told Zack that he was now in a deep slumber. He was asleep before, but now he had just completely zoned out. Zack didn't really want to get a cramp lying like that, but he didn't want to pull away from Cloud either. Without trying to make a lot of movement, Zack leaned over Cloud's bed and grabbed the photo album that was resting beside it. He pulled it up and set it on his lap, turning the book open and looking at the pictures of baby Cloud. He smiled to himself as there was a picture of Cloud with his mom and dad at a chocobo farm. The next picture was of Cloud's mother lying down on her stomach, she was looking at Cloud sitting down with his hands in front of him. She was smiling, her hands put together and Zack assumed that she was teaching him paddy-cake.

Zack felt his smile widen every time he flipped the page and looked at a different pictures of Cloud. He felt the blonde shift next to him and looked down to see what he was doing. His eyelids tightened a bit before he smiled sleepily and mumbled Zack's name. Zack grinned at this and closed to the photo album, setting it down on the side table next to Cloud's bed. He snuggled close to Cloud and kissed the blonde's cheek, making him smile goofily.

"Hey sleepyhead," Zack whispered.

Cloud smiled lazily. "Am not," Cloud mumbled.

Zack chuckled. "Cutie," Zack said, nuzzling his nose against Cloud's cheek.

Cloud's eyes opened a little. He saw Zack smiling at him and that made him smile. He could still faintly smell sex in the air and looked down to see that he was in his pajama's. Cloud looked over at Zack and saw that he was wearing the baggy pajama pants that his grandmother had bought for him two years ago. A small heat fired up his insides and he opened his mouth. "Was I dreaming or did we…?" Cloud asked, not able to finish the question before he started to blush horribly.

Zack laughed lightly and kissed Cloud's lips. "You weren't dreaming," Zack said. "We actually made love," he added.

Cloud blushed more and smiled at the thought. "So, now what?" he asked.

"Whatever you want," Zack said with a smile. "We can stay here and snuggle against each other or we can watch a movie," he proposed.

"I think it'd be better if Dad and Rick came home to see us watching a movie instead of…you know," Cloud said.

Zack smiled. "Alright, then I'm changing back into my clothes because this just doesn't feel right," he said.

Cloud watched as Zack stood and started to dress in front of him. He blushed when Zack dropped _his_ pajama pants down. He wasn't sure why he was blushing like this when he had seen his boyfriend wearing _nothing_ just a while ago. Zack looked at him as he put his arms in the hole of the sleeves of his button-up shirt. He didn't bother to mess with the buttons, however. Holding his arms out to Cloud, the blonde immediately accepted the comfort. They both walked out of Cloud's room and settled on the small loveseat, Cloud cuddling as close as he could to Zack.

"Don't you think that they'll know what we were doing when they see that you're in pajamas?" Zack asked his arm was around Cloud while the blonde flipped channels up and down.

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "They already suspected that we were going to do something before they left."

Zack sighed. "You do know that we're going to get bugged about details, right?" he asked. Cloud just looked at him like he didn't understand. "You know, possibly from Zell, Yuffie, Rikku, and the others," Zack said.

"Then let's not say anything," Cloud suggested, resting his head against Zack's chest.

"What, you mean act like we didn't do anything?" Zack asked, rubbing Cloud's side. Cloud just nodded. "We could try that, but somehow they would find out," he said.

"Yeah," Cloud muttered, sighing.

"Hey," Zack said, causing Cloud to look at him, "Do you love me?."

Cloud's cheeks heated up a little and he blushed, hiding his face in Zack's shirt. "You know that I do."

Zack chuckled to himself and made small circles on Cloud's arm. "You better," Zack replied.

"Why wouldn't I?" Cloud asked, looking up at his boyfriend to see his face.

Zack shook his head and shrugged. He felt Cloud rest his head against his chest again and kissed the blonde's hair. He almost felt like falling asleep but continued to stay awake until he heard Rick pulling into the driveway, driving Steve's car. Zack looked at Cloud, lazily watching TV but also staring off at something as if he were thinking. Zack shook him a little, making the blonde jump and look at him. Cloud then realized that he had been spacing out and that his dad and Rick were returning from whatever they were doing.

"What were you thinking about?" Zack asked.

Cloud shook his head. "I don't remember," He replied, and added, "You, probably."

"Me, why me," Zack asked and Cloud just shook his head. Zack smiled and kissed his cheek. "Of course you would be thinking of me," he said as Steve and Rick walked in.

They stared at the young couple sitting on the loveseat together. Rick smiled as if he knew something was up and walked into the kitchen. Steve just gave a small smile to them and followed Rick. Cloud watched as the two started to whisper in each other's ear, kind of wanting to know what it was that they were telling each other _this_ time. He looked over at Zack for help but Zack just shook his head and shrugged. They heard Rick say something about leaving and Zack stood up. Cloud followed him and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"I'll see you later," Zack said in Cloud's ear, making the blonde tilt his head at the tickling sensation. Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's lips, pulling away.

Cloud watched him leave and as soon as he walked out of the house and Rick's car started, Cloud missed Zack already. He sighed and sat down on the loveseat, tracing his fingers over the buttons on the remote. Steve came over and sat down beside him. Cloud did his best to smile but his dad had seen right through him.

"You miss him," Steve said. It wasn't a question, but more of a fact. Cloud nodded, looking down at his hands tracing the remote. Steve smiled.

"Dad, shouldn't you be reacting in someway about me having sex?" Cloud asked.

Steve sighed, looking over at Cloud. "I am," he said. "Honestly Cloud, I don't like the idea of you giving yourself away to Zack. I know he's your first boyfriend and you think that you're so much in love with him, but there are others. That doesn't mean that you two will split, though, and never think or see each other again; but I just want to make sure that you know what you're doing." Steve paused for a bit. "You're a smart boy, Cloud, and I would hate to see you ruin some great opportunity because of a first boyfriend. Does this make any sense to you?" he asked.

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, I understand. I know that there will be others, but I'm pretty sure that I'll stay with Zack."

His dad smiled at this. "I know I shouldn't be talking to you like this because I was your mother's first boyfriend, but we had a difficult time for a while. Eventually we settled things and decided to get married," he said, adding, "And then we had you."

Cloud looked away but then looked back at his dad. "You were mom's first boyfriend?" he asked, a little surprised.

Steve nodded. "Yeah, when she was sixteen or seventeen," he said.

"Oh."

"And, Cloud, the apron strings have to come off at some point," his dad said.

"Huh?" Cloud asked.

Steve chuckled and shook his head. "Never mind," he said.

* * *

On the car ride home, Zack was being asked a few questions. He was just glad that it was just him and Rick, and that Tiffany hadn't been with him. He thought of the chaos that would be thrown if she had heard the conversation the two were talking about, especially knowing that he and Cloud had done something together.

"So is Cloud anything like his dad?" Rick asked as they pulled out of the driveway.

Zack looked at him, one eyebrow raised. "What?" he asked.

"Well, I guess you don't know how his dad is. At least, I'd hope that you don't." Rick laughed at Zack's horrified face. "I'm kidding, Zack."

"What do you mean, though?" Zack asked.

"You guys have only had sex once, so this being your first time…" Rick thought for a moment. "Did he make shy movements?"

"Rick, he's a virgin, or was, so yes he's going, or was going to make shy movements," Zack said.

"You'd be surprised at how many feisty virgins there are," Rick replied, laughing at Zack again. "His dad did the same thing and he's _obviously_ not a virgin."

Zack groaned. "I really don't want to have this conversation," he said.

"Oh come on, we're comparing here. You're telling me about Cloud and I'm telling you about Steve," Rick implied.

"Do I really want to know what you two do?" Zack rhetorically asked.

Rick answered anyway, though. "No, but you might want to know what's in those genes of Cloud, especially if he can do the things his dad does." Zack groaned. "I'm just saying that you might want to watch out if he ever gives you a blow…"

"Alright," Zack said, cutting him off, "I get it."

Of course Zack was curious to know what Cloud had inherited from his dad, but he didn't want to hear if from Rick. He tried to imagine Cloud being a wild sex lover, but the image faded away and he remembered how Cloud held onto him. He felt himself smile and thought that he must look like an idiot, but he didn't care.

* * *

Okay, kiddos, there it is: My Beautiful Love Chapter.

There is a reason I postponed this: Valentine's Day, duh. Well, I wanted this to be done for Valentine's Day and the next chapter isn't exactly romantic enough, so I made you guys wait for this chapter. Oh, and it was a killer to edit!

Anyway, "The Apron Strings" is something I heard my grandma and aunt talking about when I was right there in front of them. Well, technically I was behind them because I was in the backseat, but it's not like anyone knows what whispering is in my family. I don't remember which one of them said this, probably both, but they said it about me and my dad and going to some concert or something. Yeah, I don't know.

I didn't have any review comments to write down, usually I do. Oh well. Let me just ask you why BBS shows Tinker Bell's pink panties? Think I'm joking, nope! I thought I was seeing things at first until I went into the character files. Yup... Tinker Bell wears pink undies.

Alrighty, so I've been planning my Vanitas/Ven fanfic and two other Valentine's (HINT: one is a Zack x Cloud). I need help on my Vani/Ven one, however, (not the Valentine's). Okay, here it is. Who should Vani's daddy be? Okay, this has to be a really good one. Vani's daddy is supposed to be a scientist-like person. So, immediately you think of the first six Organization 13 members. Well, yeah, but his dad has to be sweet and caring and actually like a fatherly-figure. My first choice was Braig, but I'm not going to make Braig all softy, my other choice is Eraqus and I know he's not a scientist, but it could work. So, you can review who you think should be daddy. It can be either of those two or someone else, but they have to be in Kingdom Hearts. Here's a little secret: I'm not going to accept Master Xehanort, Xehanort, OR Xemnas, because they just scare me...and they're not really "Fatherly".


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter Thirty**

The Monday that everyone returned from Spring Break felt like it would never end. It wasn't because the days were so boring with new assignments to do, new notes to write down, and quizzes to study for. It was just that everyone had so much to talk about that they never seemed to find a conclusion to their stories. They told their friends in one class, and then in the next they would have to start all over and repeat their story again and again. Some didn't even get a chance to finish their stories and had to text during class.

Zell seemed to be interested in what Zack had to say about his and Cloud's break. He kept pestering Zack for answers that it made Yuffie realize that something was up. It only made the small girl start to pry Zack for answers as well. Zack, however, didn't want to tell them anything. At least, he didn't want to tell them just yet. He didn't mind telling Lulu because he knew that she wouldn't say anything, but he could never find the chance because Zack would always find Yuffie or someone else next to the girl. It wasn't like he could just ask her if he could talk to her in private either because then whoever was standing beside her would follow and snoop in on the conversation.

Cloud's morning was a little different. Tifa had asked him about his break and he just replied with the usual "It was okay" sentence and she started rambling about her vacation. Cloud didn't mind this at all because he didn't feel like telling her what was on his mind. Instead, when Aerith had asked him after Tifa had run off to talk to someone, he said the same sentence with a small blush. Aerith caught onto that and asked him what he did, making Cloud blush even more.

He couldn't really tell her out loud because he thought that someone would hear, so he leaned close to her hear and hid his lips by cupping his hand to the side of his face. He whispered, "Zack and I made love," and that made Aerith's eyes lighten up. After he pulled away, there was another blush on his face that made Aerith giggle.

"What did you think?" she asked, cooing.

Cloud smiled and looked away and back at her. "It was amazing," he said.

Aerith smiled at Cloud's reaction. She looked behind Cloud and giggled. "Zack's coming over here," she said.

Cloud turned to see Zack walking up to him. A smile crossed his face as Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist and picked him up a little. Cloud whimpered a bit at the sudden contact and Zack put the blonde down, kissing his lips. The older teen pursed his lips in thought and he studied his boyfriend and Aerith.

"Are you having the same problem that I am?" Zack asked with a chesire grin.

"What's that?" Cloud asked, holding out his hand to Zack.

Zack took Cloud's hand in his and swung it back and forth a little before answering, "I keep getting asked what happened over my break."

Cloud felt his face tighten as he smiled and shook his head. "No, I already told Aerith, though."

Zack shook his head, chuckling a little. With his free hand he touched Cloud's stomach, tickling him a little. "I thought you didn't want anyone to know, Chocobo."

Cloud giggled and tried to pull away from Zack's tickling. "I know, but I can't keep it all to myself. I had to tell someone and I wasn't going to tell Tifa. Does Zell know?"

"No, he's the one that keeps asking me what I did because I told him that we were planning to."

"So now he wants details," Aerith finished.

Zack nodded. "He used a strange word when I told him about it too," Zack said, remembering Zell's weird word.

"What was it?" Aerith asked.

"Diddle," Zack answered, raising an eyebrow and shaking his head.

"That sounds like something Zell would say," Cloud said, giggling with Aerith.

Zack chuckled and pulled Cloud close to him. Aerith giggled again at the squeak that Cloud made and said, "I feel bad that I have to go, but if I don't I'll be late to class."

"That's okay," Zack said, "we were going to lunch anyway, right?" Zack asked, shaking Cloud a little.

Cloud blushed and smiled. "Y-yeah…" he said.

Aerith giggled again and waved to them before going to her class.

Zack wrapped both arms around Cloud's waist and picked him up. Cloud made a small protest but was laughing anyway, arms wrapped around Zack's neck. He smiled as Zack carried him to the cafeteria. Cloud blushed as everyone looked at them and put his lips next to Zack's ear. "Zack, everyone's staring," he whispered. Zack just grinned and kissed his soft lips.

Instead of getting in the lunch line, Zack went directly to their table and sat down in a chair. Cloud stood away from Zack, ready to sit in the chair next to him. Zack had other plans though and pulled him down by his arm, forcing Cloud to sit on his lap. Cloud made another squeaking sound that made his face heat up. Zack kissed Cloud's cheek, ignoring everyone at the table.

Zell sat down beside them, watching them before he made an outburst. "Aha, you two did do something over the break!"

Cloud hid his face in Zack's shoulder, giving himself away to everyone at the table. They all stared with wondering eyes, looking at Zell to urge him to get answers.

"Zell," Zack said, "shut up."

"So you two did have sex during break," Rikku said, giggling.

"Ooh Cloud, tell us all about it," Yuffie persisted.

Cloud just shook his head, blushing. He looked at Zack and saw that his boyfriend was looking at him as well. He leaned close to his ear and started to whisper something, but Zell's loud mouth stopped him from doing so.

"Aw, they're so cute," Zell said, chuckling as Cloud hid his face in Zack's shoulder again.

"C'mon, you guys have to give us details," Yuffie said.

"We don't have to tell you anything," Zack said. He looked at his blushing boyfriend and whispered in his ear, "Do you want to go somewhere?"

"Go where?" Cloud asked, whispering back.

"Does it matter?" Zack asked, looking at everyone that was watching them. "Let's go," he said, waiting for Cloud to get off of his lap.

Cloud took the hint that Zack wanted to get away from the pestering group so he stood up and took a hold of Zack's hand as they started to walk out of the cafeteria. Zack's hand that was holding Cloud's immediately slipped around the blonde's waist. Zack walked over to a wall, pulling Cloud with him. He wrapped both of his arms around his boyfriend's waist and kissed him on the lips.

"Zack," Cloud said after the kiss was broken, "how long will it take for them to leave us alone about…you know."

Zack sighed and shook his head. "They won't leave us alone until someone tells them," he said. Cloud looked away, he seemed disappointed. "Hey," Zack said, grabbing Cloud's hands and bringing them up to his lips. "It'll be okay, we just have to tell them something that's not too detailed."

"Zack," Cloud said, "What do you think 'letting the apron strings loose' means?"

Zack was surprised that Cloud had changed the subject so quickly. He thought that the blonde wanted to talk more about everyone wanting information about their love making, but it seemed that Cloud just wanted to be alone with Zack and talk about random things. Then it occurred to him that Cloud had asked him a question and he shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "Why, where did you hear that from?"

"My dad said it," the blonde answered. "He told me that he didn't like it that I was giving myself away to you because you're my first boyfriend, but then he said that he was my mom's first and everything turned out fine even though there were some bumps. And then he said something about the apron strings had to come off sometime," Cloud finished.

Cloud heard Zack sigh. He looked up to see his boyfriend's reaction but there was nothing there. "I think I know what he means, but I can't explain it."

"Oh."

Zack looked down at Cloud's sad face. "What's wrong?" he asked, stroking the blonde's cheek.

He shook his head. "N-nothing, I just…"

Zack bit his bottom lip, wondering what to do. He knew that something was obviously bugging Cloud but he didn't know what. He grabbed Cloud's wrist and started to pull him down a hallway. Cloud protested a bit and asked Zack where they were going. Zack didn't answer, however. The moment they walked by a water fountain, Cloud knew and he blushed at the thought.

He followed Zack into the boys' bathroom and made a soft moan when Zack pushed him against the wall. Their lips connected and Cloud swore that his head was swimming in a fog of Zack. His arms were at the sides of his head, Zack holding onto his hands. He sucked in a breath when Zack's tongue slipped out and touched his lips. Cloud parted them without hesitating and felt his eyes roll back when Zack's tongue touched his. He moaned Zack's name before reality hit him in the face and he had to turn his head to the side to escape Zack's escapade of kissing.

"Zack," he said, finding it hard to breathe as Zack's lips touched his neck, "what if…what if someone comes in."

Zack ignored Cloud's remark and kept kissing the soft flesh. Cloud slapped a hand over his mouth and Zack's lips touched a certain spot on his neck that made him react. Zack smiled at this and kissed the same spot again, watching Cloud jump and tighten his hand on his mouth so that he wouldn't scream. "C'mon Cloud, scream for me," he said.

Cloud shook his head. "Zack, are you crazy?" he asked, muffling behind his hand

"A little, yes," Zack answered with a chuckle.

"I thought that you didn't want to let out too much information about us," he said.

"I don't and we're not," Zack replied. "I just want you to scream something."

"If I scream, someone will hear and wonder why there's screaming in the bathroom. And if someone sees us together, then they'll know something's up."

Zack pursed his lips together. "Okay, then don't scream, just be loud."

Cloud groaned in protest. "Zack," he whined.

"Okay, exactly like that but a little louder." Cloud blushed, giggling a little. "See, you and I both know that you want to do it."

Cloud groaned, "Zack, can we do this somewhere else?"

Zack shook his head. "No, it's not that exciting."

"You're going to do this to me in other places too, aren't you?" Cloud asked, feeling a shiver run through him at both Zack's breath and the adrenaline he was feeling.

A grin appeared on his boyfriend's face and he saw him nod. "Oh yeah," he said. Cloud bit his lip in worry. "Think of it this way, Cloud: if you raise your voice right now, then you won't have to worry about someone coming in later."

Cloud considered. Swallowing a lump in his throat, he wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and pulled him close until their lips met. He felt Zack's face tighten into a grin and sucked in a deep breath. Zack put his hands at Cloud's waists, rubbing small circles. His fingers found their way to the hem of Cloud's shirt and began to slide up the cloth, tickling Cloud's bare skin. He heard Cloud moan a little and knew that he was doing the right thing to make Cloud scream.

Zack saw Cloud getting hazy from the kiss and took that as his chance to finally go to the extreme. He put one hand over the button and zipper of Cloud's jeans. Cloud felt his pants being undone but didn't think anything about it. He let out a soft moan and continued to kiss Zack's lips. Zack's hand slid down Cloud's boxers and touched him _there. _Cloud squeaked a little, throwing his head back and hitting it on the wall. He winced at the pain but it was soon forgotten when Zack's fingers began to stroke him.

His blonde boyfriend had seemed so distracted by the pleasure that Zack decided to go further on then what he had planned. Grabbing the top of Cloud's pants at his side, he pulled his jeans down to his knees, leaving his boxers. Cloud opened his mouth to say something, but all that came out was a soft grunt and his eyes rolled to the side, closing. Zack teased him a bit, causing soft whimpers to leave Cloud's mouth. He smiled at Cloud's reaction and lowered his boxers just a bit. Cloud jumped as cold air hit his exposing skin. He tried to say something again, muttering Zack's name, but only small whimpers and moans escaped.

Zack kissed Cloud in a spot that made the blonde's hands turn into fists. Zack took one of his hands and held onto it. Cloud watched drowsily as Zack kissed the length in different spots. He swallowed and felt his breathing start to become deeper. Cloud's eyes closed tightly as Zack kissed the tip, opening his mouth and letting his hot breath tickle him. Cloud mumbled Zack's name, squeezing his eyes shut. Zack realized that Cloud was completely out of this world and closed his mouth along the soft flesh. Cloud choked back a moan. He felt his hips moving but wasn't sure if he was doing it or if Zack was. He saw a million of bright lights, and the blurred lights as he screamed Zack's name so loud that he thought that his ears would've popped.

A smile came to Zack's lips and he watched as Cloud slid down the wall and sat on the floor, exhausted. Zack chuckled to himself and pulled Cloud's boxers and pants up for him, zipping the zipper and fastening the button. Cloud closed his eyes and then opened them before closing them and opening them again. He felt his breathing slow down to a normal pace. His heart skipped a beat when Zack leaned over and kissed him on the lips. He leaned close to the blonde's ear and whispered, "Thank you," and kissed him again on the lips.

Cloud smiled lazily. A sharp tone rang and it caused Cloud to jump. His heart started to beat fast and he looked around, recognizing and remembering that they were in the boys' bathroom. He blushed and covered his face with his hands, groaning. Zack laughed at this and put his arms around Cloud.

"Zack," he whined, "why didn't you say something?"

"What did you want me to say?" Zack asked, adoring Cloud's embarrassment.

"Nothing, I just…I can't…Zack, why did you do that to me?" Cloud asked, searching for the right words to go along with his sentence.

Zack laughed at Cloud's awkwardness and stood up, holding his hand out to Cloud. Cloud took it and Zack helped him up, grabbing and wrapping his arms around his waist. Zack kissed him on the cheek several times. Cloud groaned, still unable to believe what he had just done with Zack in the bathroom _at school!_

"C'mon," Zack said, "let's get back to class."

"How can I when it's possible that the whole school heard me?" Cloud asked, humiliated.

Zack just smiled and took his hand, pulling him out of the room and down the hall. He looked back to see that his boyfriend was still trying to think of what and why he had just done a few minutes ago. Zack could only laugh.

* * *

LOL, ooh Zacky, you're so mean. X3  
I know that this chapter is short, and I promised myself no more short chapters...but, the last chapter kind of took up the whole space, I think. Oh well, you don't like it then deal with it.

Review replies: the apron strings refer to Steve holding onto Cloud like he's still a little kid and afraid to let go... AND: How many of you actually used the word diddle on someone and what were their reactions? I wannta know!

So...did you guys read my Vani/Ven Valentine's fanfic? Well, if you didn't then you should, even if you don't like that pairing or even if you have no idea what the hell Kingdom Hearts is. I had a Zack/Cloud one all written out but I never finished it. Hmmm...

So...do you still love me? Reviews?


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter Thirty-One**

April started off smoothly until Cloud remembered that something important was to happen this month. He felt giddy inside when he remembered that Zack's birthday was coming up. He hadn't mentioned anything to his boyfriend because he didn't want him to say that he didn't have to get him nothing. Of course Cloud had to get him something for his birthday, that was the whole point in their relationship and special days like these. The only thing was that Cloud didn't know what to get for Zack. If he didn't ask, he'd end up getting him nothing and if he did ask, Zack would tell him to not worry about it. The poor blond had tried to ask everyone what Zack liked, but instead they told him what they had gotten him and they all seemed like good ideas, but he didn't want to be the bad guy and copy off of someone's gift.

"What's the matter, Cloud?" Lulu asked him while Cloud waited for Zack at his locker, arms gently crossed over his stomach.

Cloud shifted his backpack a little and shook his head. "Zack's birthday is coming up and I have no idea what to get him. I've tried asking people, but I don't want to steal their idea and use it as my own."

"Then don't get Zack anything," she said. Cloud made a soft humming noise, something that he did when he was unsure of things or nervous. Lulu shook her head and sighed. "Cloud, Zack's going to like whatever you get him."

"I know, but I…" Cloud stopped because at that moment Zack had come up to them. He looked at them with a suspicious look, exchanging his glance to Lulu and then to Cloud.

"What's going on?" he asked, reaching for the lock on his locker.

"N-nothing…" Cloud stuttered, moving a little out of Zack's way.

"What were you guys talking about?" Zack asked, smiling at Cloud and looking at Lulu when Cloud refused to answer by blushing.

"You," Lulu answered.

Zack looked at Cloud. "What about me?" he asked, intending for Cloud to answer even though he knew that he wouldn't.

"Cloud doesn't know what to get you for your birthday," Lulu answered for the blond.

Cloud looked down and he felt himself blush a bit, ashamed of the truth. "Aw, Cloud is that true?" Zack asked, shoving things into his backpack after grabbing it out of his locker. Cloud nodded and mumbled something that sounded like "yeah". Zack's heart squeezed and he dropped his bag onto the floor, wrapping his arm around Cloud and pulling him close until blonde spikes were in his face, teasingly tickling his skin and poking him gently. "Baby, you don't have to get me anything," he said.

"Yes I do," Cloud replied, looking up at his boyfriend.

Zack shook his head and kissed Cloud's cheek. He picked up his bag and swung it over his shoulder after zipping it. He wrapped his arms around Cloud again and pushed his locker door shut with his shoulder. "Cloud, being able to hold you like this is all that I want."

Cloud groaned and looked up at Zack. "You said that during Christmas, and I ended up getting you something anyway."

Zack smiled and stroked Cloud's cheek. "Are you going to buy me a black chocobo now?" he asked.

Cloud blushed. He blushed even more when Lulu coughed to clear her throat. The couple had completely forgotten that she was standing there and it surprised them both a bit. Cloud hid his face in Zack's shoulder at the look Lulu was giving them and Zack smiled apologetically.

"So if you two lovebirds are done giving each other goo-goo eyes, I'm gonna go," she said.

Zack laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. He gave a short wave and said, "Okay, yeah, I'll see you later." After the girl left, he turned to Cloud and smiled at him. "Are you ready?" Even though Cloud hadn't answered his question, he took the blond's hand and started to lead him out of the building.

* * *

The morning that Zack woke up on his birthday, he realized what day it was and groaned. He slid his hands down his face and slowly got out of bed. Looking at the calendar in his room made him sigh and he rolled his eyes when he saw that Tiffany had circled the seventeenth for him. The fact that she even bothered to put a little smiley face in there made him shake his head. He grumbled to himself as he started dressing, not really wanting to think of his birthday. It wasn't that he didn't _love_ his birthday, but there had just been a time in his life where he had stopped caring for the presents and the cake. Sure, he loved cake and he liked new things, but it just wasn't really that important any more. It was just another day to him, except that he got older.

Zack was a bit surprised when he walked out of his room and saw Cloud talking to Tiffany in the kitchen at the table. He looked over to the couch, where Rick always sat, and things made sense a little more when he saw Steve sitting next to him. He sat down by Cloud as he started to eat the breakfast that was waiting for him. Cloud smiled at him and Tiffany said something about going to check up on something. Zack wasn't sure what she had to _check up_ on but he figured that she was just making an excuse to leave them alone.

"Hey sleepyhead," Cloud muttered, smiling at Zack. "Are you excited?"

"If you're talking about how it's my you-know-what, then no," Zack answered, taking a bite of his pancakes. Cloud pouted a little and that made Zack laugh. He put a hand to the blond's cheek, rubbing it softly. "Don't pout, Chocobo, it doesn't suit you."

Cloud smiled. After Zack had given him the nickname _Chocobo_, and after being called it for a long time, he'd grown used to the name. He actually liked it now compared to when they first met and Cloud would get embarrassed whenever Zack said it. "Do you like your breakfast?" he asked.

Zack nodded as he took another bite. "Did you make it?" Zack asked after swallowing.

A blush appeared on the blond's face and Zack chuckled. "Y-yeah…" he said.

After Zack was done eating, he put the plate in the sink and rinsed it off a bit, one of Tiffany's big rules about keeping the house clean. He came up behind Cloud and wrapped his arms around him, resting his head on his shoulder. Cloud felt his heart beat faster as they started to rock back and forth. His face heated up when Zack kissed him on the cheek. Cloud felt something sticky and lifted a hand to where Zack had kissed him and felt the syrup that Zack had poured over his pancakes.

"Uh, Zack, your lips are sticky," he protested, trying to pull away from his boyfriend.

Zack laughed and kissed Cloud again. "Okay, I'll go wash," he said in a little kid voice, making Cloud giggle.

Cloud had said something about going out somewhere after Zack got out of the bathroom. Zack hesitated a bit, thinking that Cloud wanted to go somewhere just because it was his birthday but he was convinced when the blond did his own version of a puppy pout. Cloud didn't really have any intention of going anywhere; he just wanted to be with Zack for a while. And then there was that thing that Tiffany told him…

"What're you thinking, Cloud?" Zack asked.

"Oh, nothing really," he answered.

Zack looked over at Cloud and back at the road. Out of no where, he parked into a parking lot and unbuckled Cloud's seatbelt, pulling the blonde closer to him. Cloud sighed and started to giggle a little when Zack nibbled on his ear. "So where was it that you wanted to go?" he asked, wrapping his arm around Cloud's shoulder and pulling him close. He continued to nibble on his boyfriend's ear but gave up after Cloud tried to hide it in his shoulder.

Cloud put his head on Zack's chest. "I don't know. I kind of just wanted to be with you," he admitted, blushing.

"Are you sure?" Zack asked. The blonde nodded. Zack sighed and pursed his lips in thought. "I take it that you just want to sit here and make out then, right?" Zack asked, leaning over towards Cloud and starting to kiss him.

Cloud reacted and started to squirm. "Zack, no," he said. "What if someone sees us?" he asked.

Zack chuckled and quickly gave Cloud a short peck on the lips. "You're too cute," he said. "Hey, wait a minute, I thought you said that you wanted to get me something," Zack said, causing Cloud's heart to stop. "If you really do want to get me something, then let's go into that store," Zack pointed to the store of the parking lot, "and kiss in public."

Cloud's heart soothed a bit but then he remembered what Zack had just said. "Zack, are you crazy? I can hardly kiss you in front of your friends and my dad," Cloud said. Cloud groaned when Zack stuck out his bottom lip and gave him the puppy pout. "Okay, fine, but only because it's you," he said.

A chuckled escaped Zack's lips as he turned off the engine and pulled the keys out. He put them in his pocket and got out of the car as Cloud did the same. Zack took Cloud's hand in his and kiss the back of it. "What do you mean only because it's me?" he asked, pushing his lips together and raising his eyebrow.

Cloud shrugged. "I wouldn't be doing this if someone else had asked."

"Well I hope not, I wouldn't want you kissing someone else," Zack replied, chuckling a little.

"That's not what I meant," Cloud said, shaking his head.

Zack smiled. "You know, I thought you were going to say only because it's my birthday, but I'm glad that you didn't."

"Why?" Cloud asked.

"I'd feel bad," he answered.

"Zack…" Cloud said as they walked into the store.

They walked around looking at random items, things that they wouldn't even consider buying. Cloud was a bit embarrassed when Zack pulled him over to the girl's section and started looking through the underwear. Zack held up a yellow thong and held it against Cloud's hips, causing Cloud to smack his hand away.

"What, you'll be getting those someday," Zack said.

"Why would I get _those_?" Cloud asked as they started to walk over to a different section, the baby section.

Zack hummed to himself. He wasn't ignoring Cloud's question, but he wasn't intending to answer it either. He figured that Cloud would find out on the day when he opened a present and would find a thong inside. Zack stopped to look at a cute pink dress for a little girl and held it out.

"What do you think, Cloud?"

"It's cute, but Zack, we're not having a baby," Cloud explained.

Zack set the dress back on its rack and started looking at other baby stuff. "No, but we might someday."

"How are we going to do that?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know," Zack said, shrugging. "We could adopt or arrange something with someone."

Cloud thought of what it would be like if they asked someone like Aerith or Yuna to carry their baby for them. He could see a small little girl running around the house, playing with dolls and dressing them up. He imagined Zack coming home from work and kissing Cloud on the lips before getting down on the floor and playing with their kid. The only thing that bugged him was wondering how it would work. Would Zack go to bed with that someone and bring home the baby nine months later? Would that person just be the child's birth parents and Cloud and Zack would be their actual parents that raised them? Cloud shook his head at the thought and put it aside, seeing as it probably wouldn't happen for quite a while.

"Aw, Cloud, look at these little boots," Zack said, holding up a pair of pink and white snow boots with little fuzzy balls at the end of the strings.

Cloud smiled. "They're cute," he said.

Zack smiled back at him and put the boots back. "Okay, let's get out of here before I convince myself that I want a baby right now," Zack said, taking Cloud's hand.

The jewelry department was next. A woman asked if she could be of service, but Zack kindly just told her that they were just looking. Cloud looked at the expensive rings through the shiny glass. There was a light that made his eyes hurt and he had to lean in closer to see the rings. Zack was watching him the whole time and saw his eyes light up at one particular ring, a small one with a diamond in the middle in the shape of a heart. Zack looked closer at it and saw that the heart was actually angel wings and a smaller diamond was in the middle.

Cloud pulled away from the glass and rubbed his eyes. "Ouch, that light hurts," he muttered.

Zack only smiled at him and looked at the ring one last time before they walked away. Somehow they ended up in an aisle of food, bumping into shopping carts and little kids asking for certain snacks with their favorite cartoon character on them. They couldn't turn around either because more people with big carts were coming their way. Eventually they escaped the terrors of the food aisle and found a bench that they could sit on. Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders and pulled him close, putting his lips against Cloud's ear.

"You know, we haven't done what we said we'd do in the parking lot," Zack whispered, tickling Cloud's ear. The blond giggled at Zack's breath on his skin and tried to pull away, but Zack held him tighter. "C'mon Cloud," he said, leaning close to Cloud's lips.

Cloud took in a deep breath and swallowed. He nervously looked around to see who was watching but there weren't that many people. His eyes closed slowly and his breath started to get shaky as his lips quivered. Once Zack's lips were pressed against his, he felt his heart rise up to his throat. He opened his eyes frequently to see if anyone was watching. His worries seemed to be erased when Zack's tongue slipped into his mouth and he felt himself shudder.

When Zack pulled away, Cloud's eyes were still closed and they slowly fluttered open. He blushed when he remembered that they were in a store and had just finished making out. Zack smiled and stood, waiting for Cloud to follow him. Cloud slowly stood up, still dizzy from their kiss. Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders and pulled him tightly close, kissing the top of his head. He loosened his grip on Cloud a little and lowered his arm down to the blonde's small waist. Cloud rested his head on Zack's arm and they awkwardly found their way out of the store and back to Zack's car.

Cloud was about to sit in the passengers seat when he felt Zack grab his arm and patted the middle seat. Cloud smiled and scooted close to Zack. Zack drove back to his house with one arm around Cloud's shoulders and his other hand on the wheel. Cloud had his head against Zack's chest. When they got back to Zack's house, Zack just sat in the driver's seat with his arm around Cloud.

Cloud looked up at him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Zack shook his head and smiled at Cloud. "Nothing," he answered, kissing Cloud's nose.

"Yes there is," Cloud said. After being with Zack for so long, he had been able to read the older teen. It was nice sometimes, but times like these was what really hurt Cloud. "Zack," he muttered, his heart dropping.

A sigh escaped Zack's lips. "I don't want to go in there," he said, staring at his house.

Cloud looked at Zack's house and back at his boyfriend. "Why?" he asked, but he was pretty sure that he knew the answer.

"Never mind, let's go before they think that we're doing something," Zack teased, kissing Cloud's cheek.

The blond followed his boyfriend out of the car and held his hand as they walked up to the front door. He still felt like there was something wrong with Zack, but he didn't want to ask. As Zack opened the door, he saw something that he didn't want to see and looked at Cloud.

"Did you plan this?" he asked suspiciously, giving Cloud a look.

Cloud shook his head. "No, the only part that I had was to distract you," he confessed, blushing. "Sorry," he added.

Zack chuckled and shook his head. "It's okay, I still love you," Zack said, kissing Cloud.

"Okay you two, enough loving on each other," Tiffany said as she came over to the couple. "Zack, come on, enjoy your party."

Zack groaned and slouched, walking over to his aunt. "Fine," he grumbled.

Cloud giggled at Zack and watched as he got picked on by just about everyone. Rick said something about him getting older and growing into an old man. Bright white lights of camera flashes blinded Zack as he opened his presents, sticking his tongue out at everyone that tried to take his picture. After the presents, everyone said that Zack should put in the movie that he got so that everyone could watch it with him. Zack did as he was told, hoping that the party would end sooner if he did so.

The birthday boy snuck off when he didn't see a certain blond and found Cloud in the kitchen, helping Tiffany and Lulu clean up. He smiled to himself as Cloud picked up wrapping paper and stuffed them into a trash bag that was near by. Zack walked over to his boyfriend and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his chin on Cloud's shoulder.

"Hey," Zack said, kissing Cloud's neck.

Cloud lifted his shoulder, reacting to the tickling sensation of Zack's kiss. He smiled as Zack pulled away and leaned against the counter. "Why aren't you watching your movie?"

"Your not there for me to enjoy watching it," he replied. "I can watch anytime, though."

The blonde smiled as he finished cleaning up. Tiffany noticed the two talking and so did Lulu. They watched carefully, waiting to see if they would start to do something or talk about something that they might want to join. Neither of them said anything for a while, though, so Lulu decided to break the ice.

"What did you get Zack, Cloud?" Lulu asked.

Cloud turned to look at them, startled to hear his name. "What?" he asked.

"What present did you get Zack?" Tiffany asked, repeating Lulu's question.

Zack looked at Tiffany and Lulu, then at Cloud. He smiled at the blonde, making Cloud blush. "He's the nice one," Zack said.

Tiffany shook her head. "Oh, you know that you liked it," she said. Zack shrugged, making her take a deep breath and sigh heavily and walk off to put the trash bags away.

Lulu watched her leave and turned back to Zack. "Did you guys see Squall's girlfriend?" she asked.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, I think she's in our class," Zack said, looking at Cloud.

"She is," Lulu answered. "So what do you think?" she asked.

"About what, Squall having a girlfriend or Rinoa," Zack asked.

"Both," Lulu said.

Zack shrugged. "I don't know. She seems okay," he said. "Why is this being asked?"

Lulu shook her head. "Rikku and Yuffie want everyone's opinion," she answered, walking away.

A bored sigh escaped Zack's lips and he reached out for Cloud's hand, pulling the blonde closer to him. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and kissed his lips as Cloud's locked his fingers behind Zack's head.

"Zack," Cloud whispered, "I did get you something." He heard Zack start to sigh. "I wasn't going to give it to you until after the party though," he said.

"Cloud, I told you not to…" Zack didn't have time to finish his sentence because Cloud interrupted him.

"I know, but you're going to get me something for my birthday, right?" Zack thought for a moment and nodded. "It wouldn't be fair, Zack."

"It's not a plushy, is it?" he asked, smiling.

Cloud shook his head. "No," he answered.

"So what did you get me?" Zack asked, nibbling on Cloud's ear.

"You'll have to find out, it's a surprise," Cloud said.

"Oh," Zack groaned, "I hate surprises."

"Weird," Cloud said, and added, "I thought you'd be the one to love surprises."

Zack shook his head. "Nope, I hate them because you have to wait to see what it is. And I don't like waiting."

Cloud smiled, reacting to Zack's soft tongue touching his ear. Zack pulled away immediately when he heard Tiffany coming back, making Cloud groan. "Do you want to go watch the movie?" Cloud asked.

A small shrug lifted Zack's shoulders. "Sure," he answered, holding Cloud's hand as they walked into the living room and found a spot to sit together.

Zack felt relieved once the party was over. Tiffany was discussing wedding plans with Steve and Rick, and that made Zack decide was the perfect time to sneak off into his room with Cloud. He sat down on the bed, pulling Cloud down on his lap. He kissed Cloud's lips, making the blonde blush.

"When do I get my present?" he asked, grinning up at Cloud.

Cloud blushed again, hiding his face in Zack's shoulder. He whispered in his hear, "I thought you weren't excited about getting presents for your birthday."

"I'm not, but you're different."

"Uh, Zack…" Cloud said, pulling away from Zack.

"Yes, Cloud?" Zack asked.

"My present…it's not really something you can but in a box or…" Cloud blushed as he tried to explain it to Zack.

"What are you...oh? Oh," he said more loudly this time, realizing what Cloud was talking about. Cloud nodded, smiling shyly at his boyfriend. "Oh Cloud I don't expect you to do that."

"I know, but I still want to give you something and this was the only thing that I could think of that wasn't…"

Zack pushed a finger to Cloud's lips, making the blonde stop talking. "Kiss me," he said.

Cloud stared at him blankly. "What?" he asked.

"Kiss me," Zack repeated. "Give me your precious lips as my present." Cloud opened his mouth to say something but Zack shook his head. "Not that way," he added, wrapping his arms around Cloud's slim waist and pulling him down onto the bed with him.

Cloud lay on top of Zack, hands and fingers tangled in Zack's thick hair. Zack moved his hands to Cloud's hips, slowly moving his way to Cloud's butt. A soft moan escaped Cloud's lips and Zack decided that those lips were going to be his. He leaned forward and kissed Cloud, squeezing his boyfriend's butt. He felt Cloud's butt reflex to his touch and smiled goofily. Zack slipped out his tongue, licking Cloud's lips until the blonde parted them. Cloud felt his eyes roll into the back of his head as Zack's tongue played around in his mouth. Cloud tried to push his tongue against Zack's, but he couldn't seem to direct his tongue in the right place.

Zack felt Cloud's tongue, however, searching for his and he rubbed his against Cloud's. He heard Cloud moan at the sensation and pinched Cloud's left butt cheek. Zack sucked on the blond's small tongue, getting soft whimpers from his boyfriend. He lifted one hand to Cloud's head and patted his hair softly. His other hand found his way up the back of Cloud's shirt and started to slowly draw circles on his back.

The blond moaned, pulling away from their kiss and looking down at Zack lazily. His lip quivered, and he stuttered Zack's name.

"What's the matter, baby?" Zack asked, moving his hands to rub Cloud's sides.

Cloud shivered. "Z-Zack, we…if we…continue to kiss…likes this, we'll…" Cloud panted out his sentence, not finishing the end of it because Zack chuckled. "What?" he asked.

Zack shook his head. "Nothing, you're just so cute," he answered. He sat up, making Cloud sit up with him. Zack stretched and wrapped his arms around Cloud again, smiling and kissing him one more time. "I love you so much."

Cloud swallowed. "I love you, too." He put his head on Zack's chest, fighting to keep his eyes open as Zack petted his hair.

"Go to sleep, Cloud," Zack whispered in the blonde's ear. "I know you're tired."

"But…" Cloud protested.

Zack shushed him. "Go to sleep," he repeated. "Don't worry, I'll still be here."

Cloud seemed to nod lazily to himself and his eyes closed. He yawned a little, making Zack smile at him.

Zack kissed Cloud's cheek. He didn't want to leave the blonde, but he had to go to the bathroom really bad. Pulling away from his boyfriend, Zack felt his heart drop as Cloud shifted into another position. He slowly walked out of his room and to the bathroom. After doing his business, he gave a quick look at himself in the mirror and smirked. Zack shook his head, walking out of the bathroom. He saw Tiffany sitting on the loveseat, watching a soap opera. She noticed Zack and muted the sound, smiling and patting the seat next to her. Zack sat down obediently.

"Where are Rick and Steve?" Zack asked, noticing that the couple wasn't around.

"Where do you think?" she asked, nodding her head in the direction of Rick's bedroom.

"Oh."

Tiffany giggled at the face that Zack made. "Zack," she was suddenly serious, "I need to talk to you about something." She waited for Zack to respond but he didn't, so she continued. "Have you and Cloud…had sex?" she asked.

Zack swallowed thickly and sighed. He looked away and looked back at her. There was no way he could lie to her. "Yes," he confessed, nodding.

"I see," she said. She looked away.

"Tiffany," Zack muttered.

"Zack," she said, "I've taken care of you ever since…well, ever since you're…" she struggled for the word, "…_parents_ were unable to. I feel like I should be able to treat you more loving than an aunt should. Zack, I love you so much. I know you're growing up and you just turned eighteen today, but," she sniffled, "you'll always be a baby to me."

Zack felt that he had nothing else to do but hug her. He wrapped his arms around her and she mimicked his moves. Zack felt her hold him as tight as she could and he admitted that she was rather strong. He stroked her hair soothingly. The talk had made them both a little on the awkward side, but he knew that it was coming sooner or later. Realizing something that occurred to Zack, he pulled away from his aunt and looked at her with a confused look on his face.

"Wait, why didn't you react like this during the other times?" he asked.

She shook her head and calmed herself, taking in a deep breath. "I never broke down like this until now because Cloud's the one," she answered. Zack cocked his head to the right. She chuckled at his confused expression.

"Oh, I get it, never mind," he said, shaking his head at his own ignorance. "I know Cloud's the right one, he's the only one."

Tiffany nodded, wiping the edge of her eyes with her pinky. "Zack, I want to see you with someone that makes you happy. I just need to ask you one more question, though."

"Oh no," Zack teased.

She waved him off. "Are you two considering starting a life together yet?"

Zack sighed as the thought of it. He could easily picture Cloud in their house, cooking supper. Zack saw himself coming home from work, kissing Cloud on the cheek and eating at the table with the blond. Cloud would lie against his side, head on his chest while they watched a movie together. He would give the blond kisses at every romance scene in the movie. He'd pick Cloud up bridal style and carry him to their bedroom, where they made love for countless hours. It all seemed like a fantasy, or something out of a chick flick, but Zack was willing to make it happen.

He nodded, remembering Tiffany's question. "I think so," he answered.

Tiffany smiled at him one more time and told him that he could go. Zack was happy about that because he wanted to get back to Cloud and discuss his fantasy with him. When he got back into his room, he saw that Cloud was already awake and sitting on his bed, looking at a picture that Zack didn't know he had.

"What're ya looking at?" he asked.

Zack's voice surprised Cloud. He jumped at the sound of his voice and looked up like he was a five year old being caught drawing on the walls with crayon. Zack smiled at Cloud's innocence and came over to sit by him against the headboard.

"It's a picture of you," Cloud answered, handing the object to him.

Zack took it and held it between his finger and forefinger. Zack felt his heat sink at the picture. His eyes locked onto the man standing next to him and he tightened his lips together. However, his facial features softened when he looked at the woman standing next to the man. Zack saw that the man's arm was wrapped tightly around the woman, so tight that there was no distance between the two, as their heads were put together in a loving motion. He wanted to laugh at the word loving but just shook his head.

"Zack," Cloud said.

The oldest looked up at his blonde boyfriend. He remembered what Cloud had said and looked at the picture again. Sure enough, he was standing in front of the two, hands in his pockets and a _shy_ smile on his face.

"Where'd you find this?" Zack asked.

Cloud pointed to Zack's dresser. "It was on top of your stuff over there." He saw Zack shake his head. "Zack, who are those people," he asked.

"My mom and…" Zack's mouth twitched, "…you know."

The blonde felt his face become hot from embarrassment. He didn't want to make Zack uncomfortable, but Cloud had to at least _see_ Zack's parents. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck, putting his chin on his shoulder. "Its okay, Zack, you don't have to explain it to me."

Zack sighed, relieved. He put his head back against the wall and looked at Cloud. "Thank you," he muttered.

Cloud blushed as Zack kissed his lips. "You're welcome," he said.

Zack wrapped his arm around his boyfriend's waist and pulled him towards him. Cloud smiled and snuggled close to Zack's side, wrapping an arm over Zack's stomach. Zack kissed the top of Cloud's head and rubbed Cloud's side, feeling the blonde wiggle a little. He laughed at Cloud's reaction and put the picture on his night desk and put the hand that wasn't holding Cloud's waist on his boyfriend's cheek.

"Does that tickle?" Zack asked. Cloud nodded, blushing as Zack smiled. Zack didn't try to pin him down and tickle him to death, like Cloud thought that he would, but instead continued to embrace him. "I love you so much, Cloud." He heard his boyfriend mutter a reply back and chuckled. "Hey Cloud, what did you think of that ring today?" he asked.

Cloud looked up at him. "What ring?" Cloud asked. He knew what Zack was talking about, but he was kind of hoping that Zack hadn't caught him looking at it.

"The one with a wings and a heart," Zack answered. Cloud only made a soft hum. "Don't lie to me, I know you like it."

The blonde shrugged and he sat up, pulling away from Zack's embrace. "Yes Zack, I do like it but you weren't looking at the price. It's really expensive."

Zack heard the disappointment in Cloud's tone and felt his heart drop. "Cloud…"

Cloud shook his head. "Zack please, I'd feel bad if you bought that for me. I don't need it, so, please, don't…"

Zack looked away, sighing. He took Cloud's hands in his and brought them to his lips, kissing them. He wasn't going to bother saying anything to Cloud because he knew that Cloud would just tell him no. However, it never hurt to try. Zack smiled devilishly as a thought came to him while Cloud snuggled against his side again.

* * *

I just want to say this: THANK YOU TO ALL THAT HAVE REVIEWED SO FAR! even if it's a pointless review. They make me laugh, they make me cry, they confused me, they make me cry because I'm laughing at the confusion. hehe...

Alrighty, I don't have a good Author's Note for this chapter, except that I think I rambled too much.

Okay so next chapter (teaser, because I'm a moron): Cloud and Zack will be talking about rings, someone will GET a ring, Tiffany will get on to Rick, Prom will be mentioned, and our little boys will be "reviewed" by Steve and Rick about clothes. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, I just had to put something up there. Otherwise it'd be a blank space...kind of like that. *Sigh* I hate Mondays, I hate School. Why did I ever even CONSIDER being a teacher? Oh yeah, because I want to make a complete idiot out of myself in front of teenagers. HAHA! Don't judge me. HIGH SCHOOL, the cheap version of HOLLYWOOD. LOL, don't ask because I don't know. I just put these here because I get bored. So...hehe, diddle.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter Thirty-Two**

Tiffany sighed and put a hand to her forehead. She often did this whenever she had a headache or whenever she had a lot on her mind. After talking with Zack made you think of a lot of things, things that she could've probably added to their conversation or things that she could have probably explained a little better. It wasn't that she didn't trust Zack or disapprove of him and Cloud, but she was a bit worried about the blonde. She was afraid that Cloud would lose his focus and start thinking of Zack instead of school. Just like Steve, she wanted the best for Cloud. She wasn't so much worried about Zack because she knew that he'd be able to take care of himself.

Rick came out of his room with a smirk on his face. He sat down at the kitchen table and watched as Tiffany roamed to find a spoon that she was already holding in her hand. A small chuckle left his lips, causing the woman to look at him.

"What?" she asked out of frustration, partly because of her headache and the other part because of not being able to find her spoon.

He shook his head and pointed to her hand. She looked down at the spoon, stared at it for a few moments and shook her head, continuing to make coffee. "You and Zack are so much alike," he said. Tiffany rolled her eyes at him as she poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Rick. "That was a compliment," he added.

"Whatever, I can't think about Zack right now," she said, massaging her temples.

Rick laughed a little, understanding what Tiffany was talking about. "Yeah, I tried to explain something to him but he didn't listen." He looked back at his bedroom door, where he had left the door open a slight crack, and grinned.

"Where's Steve?" Tiffany asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

At the question, Rick got up and licked his lips thoughtfully, thinking of his blonde lover. He went over to a cupboard and grabbed a cup before reaching for the coffee pot and pouring the hot liquid in his cup. He held the cup by the handle and set it down at his seat next to Tiffany before walking to the refrigerator. "He's sleeping," he answered, sending Tiffany a sly smile. "That was quite a little workout for him," he said, grabbing a snack cake and sitting down at his seat.

Tiffany made a disgusted face. "I don't want to know."

"Oh come on, you can't tell me that you're not interested in hearing about our little _adventure_," he replied, winking.

She shook her head. "Don't…want…to…know," she said slowly, as if to make it clear to him.

Rick pouted. "Man, I swear you guys are no fun," he said.

Tiffany gave him a sharp look. "You mean you tried to tell Zack about you and Steve's sex life?" she asked.

Rick shifted in his seat, pulling the wrapper open of the snack cake. "So," he said, "he's going to have to learn someday what's in those blonde genes. I was just warning him."

She sighed. "Are you sure that you and Steve are ready to get married?" she asked. He bobbed his head up and down as he took a bite of his snack cake. "You look like a bobble head," she said.

"Shut up," he said, swallowing. "And, yes, we're sure that we're getting married. We don't know what exact date or possibly when but yes, we're ready."

"Rick, don't ask me why, because I don't know, but Zack looks up to you like a mentor or an uncle," Tiffany said.

He nodded again. "I know, and that's why I'm so fond of the kid."

Tiffany shook her head. "That's not what I mean," she said. "What if Zack thinks that he's ready to propose to Cloud? They still have another year ahead of them and wedding plans could get in the way with schoolwork."

Rick sighed, looking sadly at his cake. "Yeah," he mumbled.

"I'm not trying to tell you to not marry Steve, but I just want you two to think about it more."

"I know, I know," he muttered, slowly eating the rest of his snack cake.

Tiffany heard Zack's bedroom door open and close and saw Zack walk out. He smiled at them and gave them a low wave, walking over to them. He sat down across from Tiffany, pursing his lips tightly together and widening his eyes as if to say what's up.

"Can I ask you guys something?" Zack asked, looking between Rick and Tiffany.

"Sure thing, buddy; is it about the blondes?" Rick asked, smirking. "I know that you want to know…"

"No, no, no," Zack said, emphasizing the _no_'s. He shook his head and sighed. "It's just something that I want to do for Cloud."

On Wednesday, it turned out that Aerith had gotten something from Vincent. She held her hand out to the other girls and Cloud watched as they drooled over her hand. He sighed at the fact that they were at his locker. He mumbled a few things like 'excuse me' and sighed in relief when he reached his locker, grabbing for the dial. Cloud had to start the combination over a few times because of the girls' squealing. He shook his head and felt his a headache start as he finally got his lock undone and opened his locker, putting away his stuff and grabbing stuff.

"Oh Aerith, it's so beautiful," Tifa cried.

"Oh my, he must really love you to buy you something like that," Rikku said, bouncing up and down.

Aerith giggled. "It is nice, isn't it?" she said.

"Nice?" Yuffie asked. "Try _fabulous_! Dang, girl, that thing is _huge_," she all but yelled.

"Yuffie, pipe down," Lulu scolded.

"Cloud," Yuna said, "come here."

The blonde obeyed, following the pixie-haired girl over to the crowd of squealing and bouncing girls. Aerith saw him and smiled at once, hugging him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Look," she whispered, holding out her left hand.

On her wedding finger was a beautiful diamond ring. Cloud took in its shining features and felt his heart clench. It wasn't the ring he had seen while he and Zack had gone out Saturday, but it was still just as beautiful. There was an actual heart with a smaller heart in the middle that had a diamond in it. He smiled at her and blushed, unable to think of words.

"Do you like it?" Aerith asked.

Cloud nodded. "Y-yeah, it's amazing…"

She smiled and Cloud felt himself become isolated from them as they continued to coo over the object. He closed his locker and started walking off to his classes to pick up his assignments. He bumped into Zell, however, and that distracted him.

"Hey Cloud, what's happening?" he asked, wrapping his arm around the smaller blonde.

Cloud shrugged. "I was just on my way to get my homework," he answered, hoping that Zell would let him go.

Zell shrugged. "Eh, you and you're school-y work," he mumbled, pulling away from Cloud once he saw the girls hovering over Aerith. "Well, well, what do we have here?" he asked.

Almost immediately, Cloud heard the girls squeal about Aerith's promise ring and felt his heart drop and his stomach knot. He stuttered to each of his teacher's when they asked him if he understood the assignment and almost tripped when he started to walk to Zack's locker. His boyfriend met him with a kiss, making Cloud's face heat up.

"Hey Chocobo," Zack mumbled. Cloud squinted at Zack's tone and saw that he was having trouble trying to get a notebook out of his locker. "Damn it," he muttered, "the spiral thingy is stuck on…" He tugged at the notebook and groaned at its annoyance.

Cloud laughed and set his stuff on the floor. He touched Zack's shoulder and ushered him to step aside. The blonde pulled the notebook back, tugging lightly at the spine and pulling it free from its trap. He smiled at Zack and handed him the notebook. "Here you go," he said in a shy voice.

Zack took the notebook and considered tearing it up but thought better since Cloud was standing right there. He stuck his lip out and pouted. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Figures." Cloud laughed and blushed slightly. Zack only sighed. "What's everyone excited about over there?" he asked, nodding his head in the direction of where Zell and the girls were.

Cloud looked over and felt his mood drop. "Oh, um, Vincent got Aerith a promise ring," he answered, throat locking up at the word ring. Zack only stared for a while longer before shaking his head. "Zack?" he asked.

"Yeah, babe," Zack said.

The blonde felt his face become flushed and shook his head. "N-nothing…"

Zack saw that something was bothering his boyfriend and felt his heart sink. "Cloud," he said, touching the blonde's cheek. "Baby, what's wrong?" he asked.

The warning bell rang, causing Cloud to jump. Students hurried to finish their sentences and walked off to class. Cloud picked up his stuff and grabbed Zack's hand. "I'll tell you later," he said. He started to pull his boyfriend to class and, as they were walking towards the hallway, Cloud felt Zack pull on his arm and pull him aside. "Zack," he muttered in protest.

"Something's bugging you," Zack said.

Cloud sighed in defeat. "I don't know. It's just…I'm not jealous, but Aerith's ring…"

Zack knew what Cloud was talking about and wrapped his arm around him, pulling him close and kissing Cloud on the forehead. He smiled at his boyfriend and gave him a soft look. "You want that ring that we saw, don't you?"

The blonde looked away and then back up at Zack. "Yes, Zack, it would be nice because it's really pretty. I already told you, though, don't buy something _that_ expensive for me."

"Come on, it's for the little blonde chocobo that I love. It can remind you of me when I'm not there." Zack chuckled. "It'll be like I'm there when I'm not _really_ there."

Cloud giggled. "Zack, you're so weird."

Zack kissed Cloud's nose. "I know, but you love me anyway."

Cloud sighed as Zack continued to walk with him to their class. "Yes, I do."

"Speaking of rings," Zack said, "when were Steve and Rick going to get there's?"

The blonde shrugged, blushing when Zack held the classroom door open for him. "I just know that they've looked." Cloud put his stuff down on the desk and slid into a chair. Zack scooted next to him and kissed his ear, receiving a swat on the head from Cloud. "Zack," he scolded, laughing.

Zack smiled and rested his cheek on Cloud's shoulder. Cloud froze awkwardly, not wanting to move and have Zack get off of him. He put his head against Zack's and sighed. "Are you still going to the prom with me?" Zack asked, reached for Cloud's hand.

Cloud squeezed Zack's hand and swallowed. "Yeah," he muttered.

"Are you nervous?"

Cloud sucked in a deep breath. He was nervous about going to the prom with Zack. It wasn't that he was nervous about the dancing because Zack had been teaching him a few things every now and then. It was just the fact that he would be all dressed up and dancing with Zack in front of his schoolmates. Zack would possibly be holding him in some way or grabbing his butt and the thought made the blonde blush.

"A little," he answered.

Zack pulled away so that he could see Cloud's face. He kissed his cheek, smiling a little. "You don't have to be," he said. "I'll be there with you and everything will be okay. We'll have fun," he added.

The blonde sighed. "That's not it," he said. "I just want to know what everyone's going to say when they see two boys dressed up, holding hands, and dancing with each other."

"Does it matter what they think or what they're going to say?" Zack asked, kissing Cloud's cheek again.

Cloud nodded. "Kind of," he answered.

Zack chuckled and shook his head.

Cloud felt like he was sitting on the edge of a cliff. Every time prom was mentioned, his stomach would turn and he'd feel like he'd have to go to the bathroom. His dad wasn't helping either, as Steve took his son shopping to look for the right thing. He blushed every time his dad held something up to him to see how it would look. Every time Cloud blushed, Steve would smile. There were so many different colors, too. Cloud always thought that prom suits and tuxedos were supposed to be black or white, but this store proved him wrong.

Finally Steve had picked out three that he thought would be best for Cloud. He walked over to the dressing rooms with the blonde and handed him the clothes. Cloud took them awkwardly, as all three of them together were kind of heavy.

"I want to see what you look like in all of these, okay?" Steve asked as Cloud picked a room and his dad waited outside.

He nodded and slid the lock through its hole, making a clicking noise. Cloud stared at his reflection in the mirror and sighed, slipping out of his shoes with a bit of force. He gripped the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, tossing it over his head and down on a small bench for people to sit. Cloud wasn't sure why there was a bench there, maybe it was because some people weren't good at the whole standing up and pulling your pants up, because Cloud knew that that would be his reason. He did sit on the bench after undoing his pants and sliding them down. He pulled his leg free and let his jeans drop to the floor. He grabbed one of the dress pants and pushed his feet through the holes…

Outside of the dressing room, Steve sat patiently on a small chair. He smiled when he saw Rick and Zack walk through the entry, a small bell ringing. Steve stood up when Rick came over to him and grinned. The couple wrapped their arms around each other and Rick kissed Steve on the cheek. Zack groaned.

"Okay Zack, get your ass in one of those rooms and try these on," Rick said, pointing to the dress clothes that Zack was holding.

Zack sighed and entered a dressing room that was next to Cloud's. A few seconds later, a click was heard and Cloud came out of his room in a black suit. Steve walked towards him and felt his heart drop.

"Cloud," he said, not thinking of anything else to say.

"You look nice," Rick said, grinning at Steve's awkwardness.

Cloud saw his dad nod and blush. "I feel like an idiot."

Steve shook his head. "No you don't, now go try those others on."

This process went on with Zack and Cloud both coming out at different times. For some odd reason, Steve and Rick didn't want the two teenagers to see what they got. As Zack had told them, it wasn't like they were getting married, it was just they're junior prom. That didn't matter to the older couple though. They still didn't want the two to see each other though.

Cloud had gone with the last suit that he tried on and Zack went with the second. Zack wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders while they were in the backseat of the car. Cloud put his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"What kind of suit did you get?" Zack asked.

"I…"

"Cloud, don't tell him," Rick said from the driver's seat. Steve looked back at them and smiled, then turned back to cuddle into Rick's side.

The blonde blushed and scooted closer to Zack, hiding his face in his boyfriend's chest. Zack smiled and kissed the top of his head where his blonde spikes poked out. He rubbed Cloud's side, making the other move a little because of the ticklish feeling. Cloud looked up at Zack and smiled. He pointed at Zack's blue jeans, making the older cock his head to the left. Cloud tapped on the wall of the backseat and then touched Zack's jeans. Zack had a dumbstruck look all over his face. Cloud shook his head and giggled lightly.

"You're confusing me," Zack said.

"Cloud, no hints either," Steve said, turning around to look at his son.

Cloud blushed and bit his lip, trying to hide a smile. "Why?" he asked. "We're just using them for prom, nothing else."

"It makes it more fun with the surprised face that Zack will have when he sees you," Rick answered.

Zack sighed. "Oh come on, you guys know that I hate surprises."

"And this only makes it more entertaining," Rick added.

Zack groaned, irritated. He felt his teeth grinding together but he loosened the feeling in his jaw when Cloud's soft hands wrapped around his arm and he rubbed his nose into Zack's bicep. Zack sighed then, smiling down at his blonde lover. He kissed the side of his head, watching as another blush escaped on Cloud's cheeks.

Cloud leaned up and pressed his lips against Zack's ear. Zack turned his head to the side a little. Cloud took Zack's earlobe between his lips and held them there until Zack pulled away. He smiled at his boyfriend and reached for his ear again, only to get kissed by Zack on the lips. His cheeks began to turn pink and he hid his face in Zack's neck, lightly kissing the flesh.

Zack pulled Cloud away and looked at him suspiciously. "Why are you acting so…open today?" he asked his boyfriend.

Cloud blushed and bit his lip. "I don't know," he said.

The older boy chuckled and kissed Cloud's forehead. "It's cute," he replied.

Cloud smiled and pushed himself against Zack again, almost to the point where he was sitting on his lap. He went straight for Zack's ear again, but he didn't kiss or nibble on it this time. Instead, he just put his lips there and whispered, "Blue."

Zack raised an eyebrow at him and only received a smile from the blonde. Cloud looked at the back of the window before resting his head against Zack's chest and sighing. Zack's eyes rose and he lifted the blonde's chin and smiled at him. Cloud blushed and nodded. Zack kissed Cloud on the lips and held him until they arrived at Cloud's house.

The four exited the car, not worried about what was in the trunk just yet. Cloud took Zack's hand and led him inside the house and to his bedroom. He sat down on his bed and urged Zack to sit down beside him. Zack did so and kissed Cloud's cheek.

"I bet you look beautiful," Zack said, leaning back on Cloud's bed.

Cloud was still sitting up, looking down at his boyfriend. "No, I look like an idiot."

Zack frowned at this and pulled Cloud down next to him. He wrapped his arm around Cloud and held him close. "You're not an idiot, Cloud. You've been helping me for a long time."

"I know, but… I'm still uncomfortable about the whole…dancing thing."

"Cloud, I'll be right there with you. There's nothing to be afraid about."

"Yeah, but…"

"We're going to be doing more things than just dancing, Cloud."

Cloud sighed. "Zack…" he mumbled.

"Is this really worrying you?" Zack asked, sitting up a little.

The blonde looked away and nodded. "I'm sorry, Zack. I know you tell me not to worry and I try not to, but it just doesn't work out for me. I worry about too many things that not worth worrying over. Sometimes I wish I could just be like you, you know, where I don't have to worry about anything. That doesn't work though because I get paranoid about every little thing and it upsets my stomach and…"

Cloud was interrupted by Zack pressing their lips together in a kiss. He sucked in a breath, surprised at first but then sighed and sank into the kiss. Zack pulled away first and watched as Cloud slowly opened his eyes.

"Cloud," Zack said, waiting for the blonde to respond.

"Yeah," Cloud replied.

"Shut up," Zack whispered with a smile on his face. Cloud blushed as he realized that he had been rambling. He pressed his forehead against Zack's shoulder and let his boyfriend lay him down on the bed. "You're so cute," Zack whispered and hovered over his blonde. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too."

Zack kissed Cloud's lips. "You better," he teased.

Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and pulled him down so that they could kiss again. He sighed when one of Zack's hands rubbed up and down his side. He tangled his fingers in Zack's hair, stroking through Zack's black locks. Zack sucked on Cloud's top lip while Cloud awkwardly nibbled on his bottom lip. He continued to rub Cloud's side and put his other hand on Cloud's cheek. He caressed the blonde's cheek, feeling his skin heat up.

They parted from their kiss for breath and Zack immediately went for the blonde's neck. Cloud moaned as Zack kissed his neck and felt his hips buckle up. He noticed that Zack was just hovering over him and looked up at his boyfriend.

"Zack, you're not gonna hurt me," he said.

Zack looked down at their bodies that were inches apart and sighed, kissing Cloud's neck again. "I know," he whispered Cloud's ear, "but I don't want to take a chance. I'm a lot heavier than you, Cloud."

Cloud kissed Zack's cheek. "Zack, I'd let you know if I couldn't breathe," he replied.

He heard his boyfriend sigh. Zack didn't get to put himself against Cloud though because Rick and Steve knocked on Cloud's door. Zack was informed that it was time to go, making Cloud's heart drop. He followed Zack to the front door and out to the car, where Steve was getting his suit out of the trunk. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck, pulling him close for a kiss.

"I love you," Zack said, pulling away.

Cloud felt his cheeks grow hot. He watched as Zack opened the passenger door and slid into the car. Zack buckled his seatbelt as Rick kissed Steve on the nose and got into the driver's seat. Cloud waved at Zack as the car started to back up. His heart sunk when he saw Zack wave back. After the car had left Cloud's sight, he ran back into the house and into his room. He grabbed his phone and sat on his bed, flipping the device open.

His fingers awkwardly pushed the buttons until Zack's number was lit up on the screen. He pressed the call button and waited until it started ringing. Cloud felt his heart warm up when he heard Zack's voice.

"Hi," he mumbled.

"Cloud," Zack said, "we just said goodbye."

Cloud blushed. "I know, but I didn't get to tell you that I loved you." He blushed again at what he had just said and thought that he sounded like a lovesick teenage girl.

Zack only chuckled though. "Okay, I love you baby."

"I miss you," Cloud said quietly. He felt his heart jump and hoped that Zack wouldn't get mad at him for being needy.

"I miss you, too," he replied.

As they said goodbye again, Cloud sunk into his pillow, thinking of Zack. He swore that he was becoming more and more of a girl every minute. He wasn't sure if it was because he was hanging around more girls and that was affecting him, or if it was that he had a boyfriend and that was making him more feminine. Cloud sighed, thinking about Zack and how they had kissed. He buried his nose into his pillow and smiled. Zack's scent was still lingering in his room.

* * *

I'm getting to the point where I just dont want to write this story anymore. I didn't even bother to do any fixing to this... Grrr.

I need my sugar...and my iPod.

So...leave a review if you hate me now, or if you actually liked this chapter. What do you think of a friggin' sequel...?


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

"Zack," Cloud whimpered, looking up at his boyfriend, "is there anything else on besides this?" he asked, pointing to the horror film.

Zack chuckled and wrapped his arm around Cloud. He kissed the side of his head and patted his hair. "Is it too scary for you?" he asked.

Cloud nodded and said, "A little," closing his eyes and shielding his face into Zack's arm pit. He heard Zack chuckle again and grab the remote, flipping it to another station. Cloud looked up, peeking to see if it was safe to watch the TV, and sighed, giving Zack an are-you-serious look.

"What? It was either this or one of those lame comedies," he said. When Cloud continued to give him that look he added, "Do you want me turn the TV off?"

Cloud sighed, shaking his head and leaning closer to his boyfriend. Every time the couple in the romance movie kissed or made some sort of contact, Cloud would look up at Zack and smile. Zack smiled back at him and held his hand, rubbing his soft skin. Cloud felt his stomach twist and his heart flutter when the man picked his girlfriend up and carried her into their bedroom. He sucked in a deep breath as they started to undress each other and kiss all over, slowly making love.

Zack heard Cloud sigh softly and looked down at his boyfriend and smiled, kissing the tip of his nose. "Come on," he said, standing up and leading Cloud into his room. Once the door had clicked shut, and the sounds of the television faded out, he pushed Cloud down onto his bed and climbed over him.

"W-what are you…?" Cloud asked as Zack began to kiss him.

A finger touched Cloud's lips and he shuddered as Zack shushed him. "Just relax," he whispered and continued to kiss Cloud. Cloud sighed and grabbed onto Zack's pillow above his head. He tightened his grip as Zack's hands began to explore him. "It's okay," Zack mumbled into his ear, kissing the side of his neck.

Cloud moaned when Zack lifted his shirt up a bit to reveal his stomach. Zack kissed the soft flesh and let his mouth hover over Cloud's bellybutton. The blonde squirmed a bit and cried when Zack dipped his tongue into the hole. He squirmed even more, holding on tighter to the pillow above him and biting his lip so that he wouldn't scream. Zack looked up and smiled, circling his hand around Cloud's navel. He kissed Cloud's jaw and slowly made a trail of kisses all the way to his ear.

"Zack," Cloud moaned, squirming underneath his boyfriend.

Zack nibbled on Cloud's earlobe. His hand circling Cloud's stomach trailed up his shirt and explored Cloud's chest, softly trailing down the edge of his pants. Cloud swallowed thickly and looked down at Zack's hand, breathing heavily. He could feel his heart beating fast and he felt a slight push on his chest and was lowered back down onto the bed as Zack kissed his neck and teased him by poking his zipper.

Zack lowered his hand into Cloud's pants, playing with his boxers. He pulled his hand out and unbuttoned the pants, sliding them down a bit. Cloud started panting heavily. He looked at Zack curiously as his boxers were lowered and licked his lips. Zack kissed the yellow, fluffy pillow. He put a hand over Cloud's manhood and trailed his fingers up and down. Cloud groaned, bucking his hips. Zack positioned himself between Cloud's legs and kissed the tip of the organ. His boyfriend's cry made his heart shake and he took in a deep breath.

Cloud whimpered when he felt Zack's mouth swallowing him. He put an arm over his eyes and felt tears crawling at the corners. The blonde panted as Zack bobbed his head up and down. Zack looked up at him with concern when he saw that Cloud was covering his face. He grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled it away, his lips stopping when he saw tears in Cloud's eyes.

"Cloud," Zack whispered.

The blonde made a soft moan and looked down at his boyfriend. "I-I'm okay," he whimpered. His chest was heaving up and down and he wiped his eyes with his free hand.

Zack held his hand for a while, kissing the tip of his fingers. "Maybe we should do something else," he said, smiling.

Cloud shook his head. "N-no, it's okay," he mumbled.

A sigh escaped Zack's lips. "Cloud," he said, but never finished what he wanted to say to the blonde. He kissed his boyfriend on the lips.

Cloud kissed him back, feeling Zack's hand stroke his cheek. He sighed when Zack's tongue touched his and whimpered, tapping Zack's shoulder. "Hey, Zack, we should probably…" Cloud blushed as he looked down at his exposed self. Zack chuckled and kissed Cloud's organ one more time before pulling his pants up.

"You're so cute," he whispered against Cloud's lips. "Hey, do you know what happens in about a week or two?"

Cloud shrugged. "No," he said.

Zack smiled and kissed his lips. "Prom," he answered.

Cloud felt his heart drop. "Zack…" He could feel his breathing getting heavy again. "I'm not ready," he added.

"It's okay, Cloud. We'll be ready by the time prom comes," Zack assured. "Don't worry; I'll be with you every second."

Cloud blushed. "Zack," Cloud said, hiding his face behind his hands.

Zack took his hands and pulled them apart from his boyfriend's face. He chuckled down at him when he saw his blush getting deeper. "Don't hide from me Cloud, it makes me sad. You can talk to me, there's nothing to be scared of," he said. He heard Cloud moan a bit. He saw his boyfriend open his mouth to talk and then close it, biting down on his lip. Zack gently pulled Cloud's lip away from his teeth. "If you keep doing that, how will I kiss you?" he teased.

The blonde giggled. "Zack," he whined, "stop teasing me."

"No, not until you tell me what you want." Cloud groaned. He looked away from Zack only to have Zack grab his chin and force him to look at him. He felt one of Zack's hands push on his stomach. "Do I have to tickle it out of you?" Zack asked.

Cloud shook his head rapidly. Zack waited for him to talk, smiling down at the blonde. "I," he started and groaned, "Zack, I don't want to do this."

"Oh come on, that's not what you wanted to tell me," Zack replied.

Cloud groaned again. Zack chuckled at his boyfriend's awkwardness. "Zack, I… I'm… I want to… I want you to," he sucked in a big breath and said in a very high voice, "Kiss me."

Zack smiled and lowered his lips until they touched Cloud's. He pulled back and kissed Cloud's nose. "Better," he asked. Cloud shook his head. "What do you want me to do now?" he asked very patiently.

Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and brought him close so that he could whisper in his ear. "Call me a certain nickname and kiss me," he said quietly.

Zack knew what that nickname was and grinned. He kissed Cloud's lips again and pulled away slowly, leaning forward to kiss his neck and ear. "My little chocobo," he whispered, causing Cloud to shiver. "Anything else," he asked, purring into Cloud's ear.

Cloud wanted to melt into Zack's arms. He nodded slowly and looked into blue eyes. He blushed at the thought of what he wanted Zack to do and looked away. "Never mind," he said.

"Chocobo," Zack teased, rubbing his fingers over Cloud's stomach. "Tell me," he said.

He saw Cloud looked down at where his fingers were and back up at his eyes. Zack smiled. Cloud felt Zack's hand move around his stomach. "I…want… I want you to…" He wasn't able to finish his sentence because Zack had leant forward and kissed him. "I… Please, Zack… I want you…to finish what you already started," he panted, turning his head.

Zack looked down at Cloud's pants and chuckled. He kissed Cloud's cheek and whispered in his ear, "Okay, baby."

* * *

Cloud walked into school with Zack's hand wrapped around his waist. Every few seconds Zack would pinch Cloud's side, mumbling an _'I love you' in his ear and causing the blonde to either jump up or squeal, sometimes both._ Aerith and Tifa were at his locker, as were a few other girls as well. When they saw the couple walking towards them, they all said something at the same time.

"Are you two going to prom together?" Rikku and Yuffie asked.

"Cloud, are you going to prom?" Aerith asked with a smile.

Yuna asked, "Will you guys be at prom?"

"What does your suit look like?" Tifa asked.

Zack chuckled at this but Cloud only got a headache. Zack talked to the girls as Cloud got his stuff out of his locker. Aerith snuck over to the blonde, poking him in the side. He screamed a bit, surprised at the sudden contact.

"Are you going?" she asked.

He looked at her and then at Zack, feeling a smile escape across his face. "Yeah," he said, nodding, "I'm going."

"Why aren't you excited about it?" she asked.

Cloud looked around the school and then looked at Aerith. "I'm not sure what it's going to be like. I mean, there's going to be two boys all dressed up and dancing together. How are people going to react to that?"

"You worry too much, Cloud."

He sighed. "Yeah, that's what Zack keeps saying," he said, looking over at his boyfriend.

"You shouldn't worry about it, Cloud. I heard that there's going to be another gay couple dancing at the prom," she said.

This caught Cloud's attention and he looked at her with surprise. "Who," he asked.

Aerith shrugged. "I don't know, one of Zack's friends and two girls," she answered.

Cloud sighed. He looked over at Zack talking to the other girls about prom. His heart sunk for no reason and he shut his locker, books and folders in his arms. He walked over to Zack and pushed into his boyfriend's side. Zack smiled and wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders, kissing the top of his head.

"You guys are so cute together," Rikku squealed.

Zack chuckled. "Who are you going with, Rikku?"

The girl swayed a bit, looking left and right. She giggled and teasingly pushed Zack's shoulder. "I'm not telling," she cooed, "but he's kind of like Cloud in a way."

"And almost looks like Zack," Yuffie added.

Zack gave Rikku a serious look. "Rikku," he sighed.

"She asked _him_," Yuffie called out.

"Rikku, why are you obsessed with my family," Zack asked.

"She wants to be involved," Yuffie answered, receiving a hit in the arm from Rikku. She whined and rubbed the sore spot.

Zack sighed. "You do know that he's in his twenties, right?" Rikku nodded. Zack lifted a hand to his eyes and pinched his nose. "Why didn't you ask Gippal instead?"

"He said that he already had a date, which I think means that he just didn't want to go with me," she said with a pout.

Zack sighed again. Cloud looked up at his boyfriend, feeling left out. He wasn't sure who they were talking about, just that it was someone in Zack's family. He tapped Cloud's side, causing his boyfriend to jump and look at him like he had forgotten that Cloud was standing there. Zack smiled at Cloud and kissed his head again.

"No, I don't think Baralai's like Cloud," Yuffie said. "He doesn't get jealous."

Cloud looked over at Yuffie when she said this. "I'm not jealous," he said.

"Cloud," Tifa said, "you're holding onto Zack while these two are talking to him and you just tried to get his attention."

Cloud looked away, feeling his heart sting. He was about to let go of Zack but the older male wrapped his arm around him tighter and chuckled.

"He's not jealous," Zack said and added, "He just wants to know what we're talking about because I don't give him information about my family."

The warning bell rang and everyone around them ran off to their classes. Yuna and Aerith had already walked away and Yuffie skipped along to her class while Rikku stayed with Tifa. Tifa kept looking at Cloud, making him feel very uncomfortable.

"What?" he asked.

She shook her head and walked away, Rikku giggling and blowing a kiss towards the couple before following Tifa. Cloud walked with Zack to their class, feeling his heart sink at what Tifa said. His stomach twisted, thinking that she may be right.

"Zack, who's Baralai," Cloud asked as they entered the room.

Zack flipped on the light switch that hadn't been touched and looked at his boyfriend, smiling. "He's my cousin," Zack answered. "Gippal is his younger brother," he added.

Cloud felt himself start to say _Oh_ but nothing came out. He felt his heart drop and sat down at the desk that they had been sitting at from day one. Zack sat next to Cloud and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him closer. Cloud protested a bit, but gave up and sighed when he found himself in Zack's arms, close to his boyfriend's chest. He could hear Zack's steady heartbeat, feeling guilty because of his unsteady beat.

"Hey Cloud," Zack said, causing Cloud to look up at him. "_Are_ you jealous?"

Cloud looked away, biting the inside of his bottom lip. Was he jealous? He didn't know what to be jealous about. There was nothing to be jealous over. Zack was _his_ boyfriend and as much as he knew, it was going to stay like that. He felt bad for thinking that he could be jealous. Cloud sighed when he realized what it could've been. He nodded slowly, not making eye contact with Zack.

Zack felt his heart drop when Cloud admitted that he was jealous. "Cloud," Zack mumbled, "why are you jealous?"

Cloud swallowed thickly, holding back any tears that might want to escape. "Girls," he muttered.

Zack knew what he meant and pulled the blonde into his lap, cradling him like he was a baby. He patted Cloud's hair and kissed his cheek. "It's okay Cloud; I'm not interested in any girls. If I was, you wouldn't be sitting right here," he said with a smile, kissing Cloud's lips.

"I-I know," Cloud whispered, looking down at Zack's lips and caressing his boyfriend's bottom lip with his finger. "I just can't help but think that you're going to leave me one day."

Zack kissed Cloud's fingers. "I won't," he said, "I'd never leave you."

Cloud put his head on Zack's shoulder and sighed. "Zack," he muttered. Zack kissed Cloud's neck, making the blonde squirm. He chuckled at this and kissed his neck again. Cloud swatted him away playfully and kissed Zack's ear. "Hey Zack, who's Zell going to the prom with?" he asked.

Zack shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "Why?"

"Aerith told me that one of your friends was going out with another guy and I just thought that it would be Zell."

"We'll have to ask him," Zack said.

There was an awkward silence as Cloud stared into Zack's eyes, blushing every time Zack looked back at him. Cloud stood up, running his fingers through his hair. "We-we should probably…get working," Cloud said.

Zack smiled and grabbed on of Cloud's hands, pulling him back down onto his lap. He kissed Cloud's cheek and said, "We don't _have_ to do work, we can just sit here until lunch starts."

Cloud shifted uneasily on Zack's lap. He felt his heart twist and his stomach drop. "Zack, we can't just sit here. We have to do _something_," he said.

"Okay," Zack replied, "then let's work on biology."

Cloud looked at him and shook his head. "You aren't taking biology," he said.

Zack chuckled at Cloud's innocence and kissed his nose. "That's not what I meant," Zack said and slid his hand in Cloud's back pocket. The blonde jumped at the sudden touch and gave Zack another look. "C'mon Cloud, it's not like we have that much work to do anyway," Zack pleaded. "Please," he begged, "don't make me bring out the puppy pout."

Cloud tried to hold back a smile when Zack began to stick his lip out and batted his eyes at him. He sighed, submitting to his boyfriend. "Fine," he approved, "but nothing like what happened in the bathroom."

Zack smiled and kissed Cloud. "I love you," he cheered.

Cloud rolled his eyes.

* * *

It seemed that Zack loved for Cloud to sit on his lap. It was kind of a good thing too because more people had begun to sit with them at lunch. Squall's new girlfriend Rinoa was sitting beside Squall and had become friends with Lulu real easily. Someone else was sitting with them too, but Cloud wasn't sure who it was.

Zell noticed the couple sitting so close and had to make a comment about it. "I swear you two are afraid to let each other go," he said.

"We are not," Zack replied, wrapping his arms around Cloud's waist and putting his chin on the blonde's shoulder.

"See, that proves it," Yuffie said, agreeing with Zell.

"I think it's sweet," Rinoa said, smiling at the couple. She glanced over at Squall, gave him a look, and looked back at Zack and Cloud.

"Wait, isn't Cloud's dad dating your uncle?" Rikku asked.

"Rick's not my uncle," Zack replied.

"Yeah, he just lives with his aunt," Zell added, shrugging.

Zack sighed, clenched a fist and connected it Zell's arm. The blonde grumbled, rubbing the sore spot on his arm.

Cloud laughed a little. "Who are you going to prom with, Zell?" he asked.

Zell looked once at Cloud, then at Zack, and back at Cloud. He shrugged. "Nobody you guys know," he answered. He raised his hand and rubbed his nose.

"Ah, well who is it?" Yuffie asked, bouncing in her seat.

"Just someone," he replied, grinning.

Cloud sighed and leaned back against Zack. Everyone noticed this and turned to the couple. Zack kissed Cloud's cheek and looked back at everyone when he noticed that they were staring.

"What," he asked, still holding onto Cloud.

"Is what Tifa said true, Cloud? Are you jealous?" Rikku asked.

Everyone looked at Cloud, waiting for an answer. Cloud shifted uneasily on Zack's lap, groaning. He had already answered this question once to Zack and he didn't feel like announcing it to the whole table. He looked back at Zack for help, pleading with his eyes.

Zack took in a deep breath and said, "He's not jealous."

"What's he supposed to be jealous of?" Lulu asked.

"Exactly," Zack pointed out.

"He clings to you, though," Yuffie said.

"So," Lulu replied to her sister, "a lot of people cling to their girlfriends or boyfriends."

"Yeah, but Cloud acts like he's afraid someone's gonna rip Zack away from him," Rikku added.

"I'm right here," Cloud whispered, enough for Zack and Zell to hear him.

Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's cheek. "I know," he whispered back.

Zell pursed his lips as he watched the couple and turned back to the conversation. "You know, I can't really blame Cloud," he said, looking over at the small blonde sitting on Zack's lap. "I mean, he has every right to cling on to Zack. Do you know how many sluts are in this town?" he asked, raising an eye at everyone and winking at Cloud.

Cloud blushed at this and hid his face in Zack's shoulder.

Zack kissed Cloud's forehead and looked over at Zell.

"Seriously," the energetic blonde added, "they all hang out at the park and watch skater boys do skateboard tricks."

"Zell, those are called scene girls, not sluts," Rikku corrected.

Zell shook his head. "Uh-uh, they're not scenes because they've dressed up as cheerleaders before while watching some dudes play basketball," he said. "They just dress up like whatever to get some loser's attention."

Lulu sighed. "Zell, do you know what you're talking about?"

Zell shrugged. "I don't know, but those girls are a good reason for Cloud to be stitched to Zack's side."

Zack's eyes lifted and he gave Zell a weird look. He looked down at his hip and side, shaking his head. "Okay, like that will ever happen," Zack said and added, "But what gets me is that you guys are talking about Cloud like he's not even here."

Everyone looked at each other, then at Cloud. Cloud blushed and groaned, feeling his stomach become uneasy. He licked his lips as he felt them get dry and started to nibble on his bottom lip. Zack touched his chin, signaling for him to stop. No one bothered to say anything after that. It could've been that they didn't want to say anything, or it could've been because the bell rang.

Zack pushed the buttons of his keyboard, typing out some stupid essay that he had to write. He didn't know why the teachers bothered to give homework this week, especially since prom was about to happen. Zack stopped typing and looked over at the digital clock sitting by his bed and groaned. It was almost three o'clock in the morning and he had to finish the essay by eight. He ran a hand down his face and sighed. He couldn't remember what his teacher had said about the essay, mostly because his mind was on a certain blonde. A smile came to his face as he thought about Cloud. He couldn't wait for prom so that he could see Cloud.

Cloud was still nervous about going to prom, though. The blonde had explained to Zack so many times that Zack swore that he could recite every word. He couldn't really blame him, though, because he understood that Cloud wasn't comfortable about the whole school seeing them together. Cloud had said that it was different when they somewhere else but drama always seemed to grow in school.

Zack shook his head and reached for his phone, flipping it open and dialing Cloud's number. He knew that his boyfriend would hate him right now but he couldn't help it. He would admit that he was an over-obsessive boyfriend and he didn't care. Cloud was just…

"Hello," Cloud's soft voice said.

He felt his heart rise into his throat at the sound of his boyfriend's voice. "Hey baby," he replied.

"Zack," Cloud scolded, "it's three in the morning."

"I know, but I had to talk to you. I had to hear your voice."

"Zack, that is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard," Cloud said with a sigh.

Zack chuckled. "Yeah, I know," he agreed.

"Why are you still up?" Cloud asked.

"I have to do this essay and it's killing me," Zack answered.

Cloud grumbled. "Good luck," he said.

"Wait," Zack said, knowing that Cloud was ready to hang up. "Let's go somewhere tomorrow, after school I mean."

There was a silence and Zack was pretty sure that Cloud had hung up on him. He pulled his phone back to see if there was still a connection. When he saw that there was, he held the device to his ear again and heard Cloud breathing softly.

"Cloud," he said.

"Hm," he heard Cloud say.

"Do you want to hang out somewhere after school?" he asked.

"Oh," Cloud mumbled, "yeah, let's do that."

Zack chuckled at Cloud's sleepy cuteness. "You're so cute," he replied.

"Am not," Cloud said almost furious, but it was in a cute way of being furious.

Zack laughed again and felt his heart beat faster. "I love you."

"Love you," Cloud responded.

Zack waited for Cloud to hang up before he closed his phone and set it down. He looked back at his computer screen and groaned at the words that glowed in front of him. Shaking his head and sighing, he put his fingers on the keys and began typing random stuff that he hoped that his teacher wouldn't worry about.

* * *

Hey you guys, I never said that I'd quit writing. I just said that I'm getting tired of it. BLeH...

I know how they feel about the whole prom thing though.. I'm not ready either. Not because of the whole shopping thing, but just because I'm not ready. I probably wouldn't even go to prom, but my friends are going so that's why. It's not like I have a date... Sadly. Not because I haven't been asked, but I haven't, it's just that the freaking dude I like is...

How do I say this? He's at a higher rank than me! I'm the girl that sits in the corner and reads a book or writes a story; and he's the boy that has a lot of friends that you can't name them on all fingers and toes and joins sports and blah blah blah all that stuff. Grrr. Damn popularity. Actually, I was going to write a story about that. But thought it'd be too close to my personal life. I don't know.

I just don't freaking know anymore.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

Steady rain gently poured down and hit against Cloud's bedroom window. Cloud sighed at the sound, leaning back in his chair. Zack was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He looked over at his boyfriend and thought that lying next to him on the bed looked more comfortable, so he left his desk and scooted into his bed beside Zack. Zack smiled and wrapped his arm around the blond, kissing the side of his head.

"Man, I hope it doesn't rain like this during prom," Zack said, letting out a horse-like sigh..

Cloud took in a deep breath, rolling on his side and laying his cheek on Zack's chest. He looked into his boyfriend's eyes, smiling softly. "Why not," he asked, but it was more of a suggestion. "I think it'd be wonderful dancing in the rain."

Zack chuckled. "Yeah, until we catch the flu," he said.

Cloud copied Zack's puppy pout. "When did you turn into the serious one?" he asked teasingly, pushing lightly on Zack's shoulder.

Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud and pulled him closer to where the blond was basically straddling his upper boddy with his arms. "Ever since I started protecting you," he answered.

"What are you protecting me from?" Cloud asked, smiling.

"Dragons," Zack answered, "and the evil wizards that wish to harm you." A thought crossed Zack's mind and he stood up, Cloud sliding off of his chest. "Don't worry, my fair maiden, I shall save you," Zack said in a strange accent.

Cloud blushed. He felt his face start to become hot when Zack bowed to him and took his hand. He kissed his knuckles, then the top of his hand, and lastly the tip of his fingers. Zack stood up straight and walked towards Cloud, wrapping his arms around him and picking him up bridal style. Cloud squeaked at the sudden action.

"Zack," he whined, "What are you _doing_?"

"Protecting and saving you," Zack answered slowly, adjusting Cloud's weight in his arms.

"You're going to hurt yourself," Cloud said, looking down.

Zack, however, ignored the comment and walked to Cloud's bedroom door, awkwardly opening it. He walked out into the living room, caring him around and getting the attention of the three grownups sitting and watching TV. They watched in wonder of what the two teenage boys were up to. Zack swung Cloud in a few circles until they both became dizzy. Cloud held onto Zack's neck, amused and frightened at the same time.

"C'mon Cloud, we have to get somewhere where the evil wizard won't find us," Zack said, not caring about showing the little _game_ he had started with Cloud.

Cloud blushed and looked at his dad. Steve chuckled lightly as Zack carried Cloud to the kitchen and back into the living room. They soon traveled back into Cloud's room where Zack gently set Cloud down on the bed and crawled over him. He kissed his lips, grinning devilishly.

"Zack, you're such a corker," Cloud said, pushing Zack's face away and laughing. The older teen laughed and pressed his lips against Cloud's. He softly pinned Cloud to the bed and lay on top of him, kissing his bottom lip. Cloud blushed, wrapping his arms around Zack's neck. "I love you," he whispered into Zack's ear.

Zack pulled back, smiling. "Hm," he hummed, "and I love you, too." They began kissing again and Cloud found himself melting into Zack's touch. Their little love moment was ruined though when a struck of thunder sounded, making Cloud jump.

"I think I'd pass on dancing in the rain if there's thunder," he said shyly.

Zack raised an eyebrow. "Are you…afraid of thunder, Cloud?" he asked.

Cloud nodded. "Y-yeah, a little…"

More thunder cracked, causing Cloud to squeak and wrap his arms tighter around Zack's neck. The older teen didn't make fun of him, like Cloud thought he would. Zack rolled over onto his side, pulling the blond to where he was almost on him. He patted Cloud's hair and rubbed his back and sides. Cloud wiggled at first because of Zack rubbing his sides and the tickilish feeling, but he soothed down a bit until another crack of thunder roared into his room. He whimpered, edging closer to Zack.

Zack smiled. He thought that it was cute the way Cloud grabbed him because of how he was scared of a thunder storm. Most teenagers would be too ashamed to admit that they were afraid of this sort of thing and that was the part that made Cloud so cute. Zack shushed Cloud, kissing his forehead and stroking his blonde locks. "You're okay," he whispered.

Cloud yelped when a louder crack boomed out and the lights went out. He sat up immediately, looking all over to see where his room had gone. Lightning flashed through his window and he saw it for a blinking second. Zack pulled him into a hug and rocked him back and forth. Cloud's bedroom door opened and as more lightning flashed, they could see Steve making his way to them through the darkness.

He sat down on the bed with them, touching Cloud's hand. "Are you okay?" he asked, rubbing his son's hand.

Cloud nodded but when he remembered that it was probably too dark to see he mumbled, "Yeah."

"Do you two want to come out into the living room? Tiffany's lighting some candles and Rick's looking for flashlights." Cloud considered the thought. If he went out there, he wouldn't be alone with Zack when he really wanted to. However, another loud boom made him jump in Zack's arms and he yelled in surprise.

Zack answered for him, "Yeah, we'll be there in a minute."

Cloud thought he saw his dad nod and heard the older man get up, walking out of the room. He pressed himself into Zack, looking up at him. "You probably think I'm a big baby, right?"

Zack shook his head. "No, you're not a baby." He paused for a moment before continuing, "You're _my_ baby."

Cloud groaned, hitting Zack's leg. Zack groaned from the pain but laughed it off at Cloud's frustration. "Zack," he whined.

The older teen smiled, even though he knew that Cloud wouldn't be able to see him. He kissed what he thought was Cloud's lips, but turned out to be his eye instead. "Oops," Zack muttered, searching awkwardly for Cloud's lips with his own. When he found them, it was almost as if Zack had won the final battle and said, "Ah, there we go," and kissed Cloud.

The couple awkwardly got off the bed and searched to get out of Cloud's room. They felt relief when small glimmers of light passed through from the living room. More thunder rolled and Cloud jumped and cried right there in the middle of the hallway. He jumped back, clenching his fist over his heart and feeling strong arms around his waist. They continued walking until they were sitting on the couch together, Cloud huddled close to Zack.

"It'll be okay," Zack soothed, rubbing Cloud's shoulders.

Steve was laying against Rick on the loveseat, watching his son as Tiffany lit one last candle. She sat down in a recliner, rocking back and forth. Steve smiled a little when Cloud started to relax under Zack's soothing words and comforting rubs. After a while, Cloud fell asleep against Zack. Zack felt as if he could go to sleep as well but Tiffany saying his name stopped him.

"Zack," she said, "are you and Cloud going to…you know, get married some day?"

Zack was taken aback by the question. He wondered where that had come from and why she was thinking such a thing. Sure, he loved Cloud and he was pretty sure that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, but talking about getting married to someone, especially when that someone was your parent or guardian, was a hard thing. He could think of what it would be like to marry the blond and he could mention it to Cloud once in a while, even if the younger male did get embarrassed. He looked down at the blond sleeping in his arms and smiled. He sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. We haven't been dating that long but I can't possibly imagine him with someone else," Zack said.

"You can't, or you don't want to," Rick suggested. Zack rolled his eyes. "Zack, this is serious."

"We need to know if you are planning to start a life with Cloud," Steve added, shifting closer to Rick.

"Well, yeah, probably after we graduate from high school," he said.

"Zack," Rick said, "what if Cloud wants to go to college?"

Zack looked down at his boyfriend. He felt stupid. Of course Cloud would want to go to college. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of that part yet. The only part in their lives that he hadn't thought about was Cloud going away to college. Zack would go to college, no doubt, because he was determined that he didn't want to work in a fast food restaurant or some super market store. The whole thought about college had just flew by in his mind, but that didn't mean that he hadn't planned for it. For some reason though, the way everyone was talking to him right now made him feel like they thought he was an idiot. "Why do you guys want to know?" he asked.

Tiffany sighed, rocking back and forth in her chair. "We weren't sure whether or not you were able to settle down," she said.

"Cloud's not just a fling," Zack pointed out. "I love him."

"That's what you said about the others, Zack," Rick replied.

"So just because I made a few minor mistakes you think that I can't decide for myself now," Zack asked, lifting an eyebrow. He looked over at Steve and saw that he wasn't about to get into the conversation. "I already told you guys that I love him and what I want to do for him," he added.

"What about kids, Zack?" Tiffany asked.

Zack's eyes went wide. "Whoa," he said, "we haven't even really discussed having kids yet. I'm not even sure Cloud _wants_ kids."

"He wants a baby, Zack," Steve replied, "but he doesn't want to adopt."

Zack felt like he had totally missed out on something. He looked down at his boyfriend. _His_ boyfriend, Cloud, the teen that he referred to as "Chocobo", wanted a baby.

* * *

"Prom is tomorrow," Aerith said, smiling at Cloud as he closed his locker. She clutched her books tight to her chest and looked down at the ring on her finger.

Cloud noticed the reaction and smiled. "Are you going with Vincent?" he asked.

She nodded, her cheeks turning pink. "I'm kind of nervous, you know, because this will be the first time that my friends have actually _met_ him."

Cloud nodded, agreeing with her. He remembered what Vincent was like and gave her an assuring smile. "I'm sure it'll be okay," he said.

"I know," she replied. "I'm not so worried about them liking him, I'm more worried about whether or _Vincent_ will like _them_."

Cloud shrugged. "Tell him that he'll learn to love them," he suggested.

Aerith giggled. "I guess that's true," she said. She waved at Cloud before walking away.

Cloud waved back at her and waited until she had left to go find Zack. His boyfriend had been acting weird ever since the night of storm and he was starting to wonder if he had done something bizarre whenever thunder struck. He reached Zack's locker, smiling and almost feeling like skipping over to him. Cloud poked Zack in the left side and then hurried over to his right, as if trying to be sneaky.

Zack jumped a bit and looked to his left, but when he saw no one there he frowned and looked over to his right. His eyes brightened when he saw Cloud and he smiled. "Hey, there you are," he said, leaning in and kissing Cloud's cheek.

"There _you_ are," Cloud said, blushing when Zack's lips touched his cheek. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Zack looked at him, cocking his head. "Of course," he said. "Why, did something happen?"

Cloud shook his head. "No, you just seem out of it ever since the storm. I didn't…do anything too awkward, did I?"

Zack smiled and winked at Cloud. "Nah, nothing like that; you were cute," he admitted.

"I doubt that a seventeen year old boy squeaking and yelping every time he heard thunder is _cute_," Cloud said, crossing his arms.

"Well, maybe at prom we can finish that game of ours," Zack suggested, grinning wickedly.

Cloud made a face. "What _game_?" he asked.

Zack chuckled and put on his accent. "Why, my fair maiden, don't tell me that you have forgotten about the evil wizard," he said, faking a hurtful expression.

Cloud rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm starting to think that _you_ are the evil wizard," he said. He laughed when he heard his boyfriend whine.

The warning bell rang and Zack slammed his locker closed, wrapping an arm around Cloud's shoulders. They started to walk to their classroom together and Cloud felt himself blushing. Zack noticed this and stopped in the middle of the hallway, pinning Cloud to the nearest wall.

"Zack," Cloud groaned.

"Blush," Zack said, grinning, "tell me why."

Cloud sighed, remembering their deal from forever ago. "I was thinking about being at prom with you," he confessed, feeling his cheeks go red again.

Zack smiled and pulled away from Cloud, walking to class. When they were in the classroom, Zack started on his review worksheet that he had to finish by three today. Zack watched Cloud as he read a book. He smiled at his boyfriend when yesterday came back into his mind, burning him up with questions. He wasn't sure how to ask him though. Zack couldn't just ask him if he wanted a baby or anything like that. He couldn't mention anything about some baby that they had seen in a store because they hadn't seen a baby. Zack shook his head and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, looking up from his book. He placed his bookmark inside and put his chin on Zack's shoulder. "Zack, please tell me," he begged.

Zack sighed, but not because he was frustrated. "Cloud," he started, "what do you think about...babies?"

Cloud made a face that made Zack want to laugh. "They're…cute," he answered, but the way he said it made him sound as if he were asking Zack.

Zack shook his head. "No, I meant would you ever want one?"

"Oh," Cloud said, blushing, "well…yeah, sure, someday." Zack felt his heart twitch. He wasn't sure whether he should be excited or horrified. Cloud wanted a baby. "But," Zack's heart twitched again, "I want it to be our own child."

"Cloud…"

"I just don't think I would be able to tell _our_ kid that he or she was adopted," Cloud said.

"Cloud," Zack said.

"Most kids that you adopt are troublesome too, and I don't want to feel like I have to take care of twenty kids when we only have one."

"Cloud," Zack said, catching Cloud's attention. "What brought this baby stuff up in the first place?"

Cloud made that face again. "You mentioned it," he replied, pointing at Zack.

Zack sighed and shook his head. "No," he said and asked, "Why do you want a baby?"

"I-I guess I just…always wanted to have a baby," he said, blushing. "Does that seem too sappy? Do I sound too much like a girl?" he asked.

Zack shook his head, smiling a little. "No, I just don't understand why you never mentioned this to me."

Cloud felt his heart beat faster. "Why, who told you?" he asked.

Zack felt as if he had said too much, but this was something that he had to discuss with Cloud. "Tiffany, Rick, and your dad were worried that I wouldn't be able to take care of you," he answered. "Somehow a baby was mentioned and that's kind of why I've been acting like a zombie instead of a puppy," he confessed, shrugging.

"It's okay," Cloud said, leaning up and kissing Zack's lips.

"Are you sure?" he asked and Cloud nodded. "What about the…"

Cloud shook his head. "We'll talk about it later," he said.

Zack didn't want to talk about it later, though. He frowned at Cloud and sighed, shaking his head. "Cloud," he said.

The blonde sighed and closed his eyes. "Zack," he huffed, imitating his boyfriend.

"Cloud, you can't just expect me to forget about something like this. I need to know what you're thinking," Zack replied.

"I'm thinking that we can talk about it later," Cloud answered.

Zack pouted. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you wanted a baby?" he asked.

Cloud shrugged. "I-I don't know. I guess I thought that you didn't want one, so I never bothered to mention it. Plus, we haven't really been dating so I thought that it would be weird."

"It's not weird, Cloud. I want to be a dad. I know that probably sounds stupid, but I do."

"Zack," Cloud said.

"Actually, I think what I really want to do is prove to myself that I'm going to be a better father than my own," he added.

Cloud smiled. He reached over for Zack's hand and grabbed it, squeezing his hand a bit. Zack jumped a bit and looked down at their hands before looking up at Cloud. "Zack, you don't have to prove to yourself that you can be a better dad."

Zack smiled at Cloud and put his head on the blonde's shoulder. "I know, but I just don't want to become…_him_," he said.

"Zack," Cloud said, causing Zack to look up at him, "when am I ever going to meet your mom?"

* * *

Cloud couldn't sleep. He was tired, but that wasn't the problem. Not matter what he did, his eyes would not close. He was nervous. Tomorrow, well today really, since it was past one, was prom. Cloud tried not to think of it, telling himself that everything would be okay, but the thought stayed with him. He reached for his cell phone and flipped it open. The device was already left on, in case Zack was going to call. Cloud considered calling his boyfriend, but he was afraid that he was already fast asleep. He stared at the screen and sighed, closing it. Tucking himself underneath the blankets, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Fail.

He sat up and flipped his phone that remained in his hand, and went to his contacts. He had made Zack's number first and pressed the OK button before putting the piece to his ear. A few soft rings muffled into his ear and he sighed, thinking that Zack wasn't going to answer. He felt stupid for even trying.

"Hello," Zack's cheerful voice said. Cloud was taken aback. He hadn't expected Zack to be up, but then again, it was Zack. "Cloud, I know it's you so don't try anything funny," Zack added, chuckling.

Cloud felt himself blush. "N-no, I just didn't think you'd be up," he answered.

"I'm up," Zack said.

"Are you crazy?" Cloud asked, smiling.

"Probably," Zack answered. "Now, I know you didn't call me just to ask me that and to see if I was awake."

Cloud blushed again. "I couldn't sleep."

There was a long dead silence before Zack asked, "Does this have anything to do with prom?"

"Maybe," Cloud answered.

"Kiddo, there's nothing to worry about," Zack said.

Cloud lifted an eye. "Did you just call me kiddo?" he asked.

"Yeah," he said.

Cloud sighed. "Zack," he said, "I'm not a kid."

"I know, but I had to come up with a new nickname," Zack said.

"Well, try harder, something that isn't _kiddo_," Cloud whined.

Zack chuckled. "Sure thing," Zack replied, "now don't worry about prom. You'll be wonderful and I'm pretty sure that you won't somehow magically get into a pretty pink dress, unless I really am the evil wizard."

"Thanks," Cloud said, blushing.

"Can you sleep now?" Zack asked, chuckling.

"Y-yeah," Cloud said.

Zack chuckled again. "Okay, night babe," he said.

* * *

Whew! Finally, this thing took too damn long. In case any of you are wondering: I DID NOT FORGET ABOUT THIS STORY! NOR ANY OTHER! EVERY TIME I TRIED TO UPLOAD A NEW CHAPTER, I GOT SOME KIND OF ERROR MESSAGE. Well, that took almost two weeks. Sorry guys, but I'm just glad it's finally working. I was really close to finding a new site to post my stories.

I feel like I'm making Cloud a total girl. But it's all _Final Fantasy VII_'s fault for putting him in a dress! Even though I've never played that game and have only played _Crisis Core_ and watched both _Advent Children_ movies.

Okay, do you guys want drama? Even if it's an incy-wincy little bit of drama? Because I can tell you right now that Cloud is going to be in the middle of something, but I won't tell you! BECAUSE _**I**_ AM ACTUALLY THE EVIL WIZARD! MWAHHAHAHAHA... I prefer "Sorceress" though.

Prom is also in the next chapter. Heee-hheee (evil elf laugh)


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

Zack turned the knobs a little and continued with his shower. He let the water soak over him before he started washing himself with soap. He started to think about Cloud and a smile ran over his face. Zack thought that it was cute the way the blonde had called him the other night, anxious about going to prom. He grabbed the shampoo bottle and squeezed the liquid onto his hand, rubbing it through his hair as the water washed off the soap on his body. Zack would admit that he was a little nervous about prom as well. It wasn't the same thing that Cloud was nervous about, but it was related to it. His nervousness was more about seeing Cloud and being there with the blonde at prom than just dancing.

As soon as he was finished with his shower, Zack dried himself off and walked to his room with a towel around his waist. He let the towel fall and hit the floor as soon as he was in his room with the door shut behind him. Zack sighed to himself as he pulled out black boxers from his dresser and slid them up his legs. He licked his lips as he grabbed a pair of socks and sat down on the bed to put them on. Once his feet were covered, he went over to his computer chair, where he had put his suit so he wouldn't forget. Zack grabbed the suit and laid it down on the bed. He opened another drawer of his dresser and grabbed a white tank top, pulling the piece of clothing over his head.

He continued to dress himself, until he came to the tie. Wasn't there something to do with a rabbit and a log? He couldn't remember. Zack sighed as he stared at his clueless reflection in the mirror. His phone began to ring from his dresser and he put the tie down on his bed, walking over to his phone. He picked the device up and flipped it open, holding it to his ear.

"Hello," he said.

"Hi Zack," Cloud's voice muttered.

Zack felt a smile creep onto his face. He chuckled. "Hey Cloud," he said, "I know, you're probably waiting on me."

He swore he could _hear_ Cloud blushing. "Y-yeah, but I just wanted to ask you if we were going somewhere before or after prom."

Zack thought for a moment. "Lulu said something about going to this restaurant, but I'm not really sure about that."

"Oh."

"Unless you want to," Zack added.

Cloud stuttered, "O-oh, no, I was just hoping that we could…" The blonde trailed off, not wanting to say the words.

Zack grinned and laughed a little at Cloud's innocence. "Okay, Cloud. I'll be there in a bit," he said.

"Okay," Cloud replied.

Zack hung up the phone and tossed it on his bed next to his tie. He looked down at the article and groaned. He sat down on his bed and lay down, rubbing his hands over his eyes. A knock at his door made him sit up and he looked over to see who was coming in.

"Having trouble with something?" Rick asked as he came in and sat down on the bed next to Zack.

_It's like he knows_, Zack thought, sighing a little. "Yes," he grumbled and held up the stupid tie.

Rick chuckled and took the tie from Zack. He stood up and motioned for Zack to do so as well. Zack followed and stood in front of Rick. Rick wrapped the tie around Zack's neck and the teen watched as he went through and loops and all kinds of turns that made Zack dizzy. "There," he said, "all set. You know, there's a simple song to learn that goes along with that, Zack."

"Like I know," Zack mumbled, playing with his tie.

Rick smiled but it soon fell when he realized that this would be something that just about every boy learns from his father. He sighed and shook his head, patting Zack on the shoulder. "Well, at least it's over with," he said.

Zack shrugged and sat down on the bed. Memories of his childhood traveled back to when he and his parents were together and _happy_. His mother had tied the tie around his dad's neck all the time until his _father_ finally got the hang of it. Zack remembered that he would watch him whenever they went out to some kind of wedding, funeral, or even some church that his mom wanted to get into. Back then, he thought that he was the luckiest kid in the world with the most loving parents. He thought that his dad would be the one to teach him how to ride a bike, skate, tie his shoes, or even tie a tie. His heart tightened at the thought and it felt like a big bubble had gotten stuck in his throat.

The older man sensed Zack's feelings about the whole father thing and he sat down by the teen, putting his hand on the teen's shoulder. He sighed, trying to think of the best way to solve Zack's problem. "Zack, I know how you feel. My dad, he wasn't really there either. It didn't bother me until I got into my teenage years and…_things_ started to happen."

Zack swallowed the bubble away and nodded. "Yeah, I know what you're saying. But whenever I look back, I remember my friends telling me that they're dad taught them to tie their shoes or that their dad helped them take off the training wheels on their bikes."

Rick squeezed Zack's shoulder. "Hey, if it makes you feel better my mom had to teach me how to pee in the snow," Rick said. Zack chuckled. "I thought you'd laugh at that," he said, grinning. He stood up and patted Zack's shoulder before leaving.

Zack sat there for a moment, thinking about the very first day when he had to stay with Tiffany and Rick had been there. He remembered that he thought that the two were dating since they lived together, but that was until Rick started to bring some guys over. For a long time, he had looked up to Rick almost like he was his father or uncle. At first, he didn't want to think of Rick as anything but a great friend, and that was all he came to be. However, as Zack started to mature every year, he found himself going to Rick for answers because there was no way he was going to ask Tiffany about _that little problem_.

He brushed the thoughts away and stood up, thinking that Cloud would have a heart attack if he didn't show up soon. Zack grabbed a backpack that he had packed a few extra clothes in, just in case. He walked out of the house and to the car, sighing as a yet another smile came upon his face and he continued to think about his blonde boyfriend.

* * *

Cloud was nervously pacing the floors as he waited for Zack. His dad had tried to calm him down but gave up after the teen started rambling about all the possible things that could've gone wrong. When Zack did arrive, Steve swore that Cloud would drop to the floor and faint. Cloud ran to Zack and practically squeezed him to death. Zack did nothing but laugh and hug Cloud back, wrapping his arm around the blonde's waist as they prepared to leave. Steve had stopped the two before they left, though.

"Zack," he said, holding a camera. Cloud groaned.

Zack only smiled and wrapped his arm tighter around Cloud. He kissed the blonde on the cheek right when the picture snapped and Cloud blushed. "You look beautiful," he whispered in his ear.

After a few more shots, Steve set the camera down and walked over to the couple. "Cloud, this was one of the moments that your mother was always looking forward to. She'd be happy that you found someone like Zack," Steve said, gesturing toward the dark haired teen. "I know that you don't wear necklaces but," he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a little box, "your mom wanted you to have this. She said that she hoped that you'd wear it either your prom night or wedding. Don't ask me why," he added.

Cloud took the box and opened it. A solid gold chain and heart locket rested inside on the little pillow. He ran his finger over the engraved writing in cursive. _Rain & Cloud_ was what was carved into it. The necklace was cold and he felt his heart bounce off the walls. Cloud picked the necklace up by the chain and held it up. He struggled to open it a bit but was satisfied when it finally clicked open. A picture of him as a baby with his mother holding him was inside and he felt his stomach tighten. Cloud closed the locket and undid the latch, wrapping it around his neck, clicking the latch back into place.

Cloud took a step towards his dad and hugged him. "Thanks," he said as he pulled back.

Steve smiled. "You two go have fun," he said and frowned before adding, "but not _too_ much fun." Cloud groaned as he and Zack turned to leave but Steve stopped them one more time. "Zack, make sure he stays safe," he said.

Zack smiled and wrapped his arm around Cloud. "I will," he replied.

* * *

"Your necklace is beautiful," Zack said as they got out of the car. Through the whole car ride to prom, Cloud had kept touching the locket as if he were afraid that it would somehow disappear. "_You_ look beautiful," he said, kissing Cloud's forehead.

Cloud blushed and put his head on Zack's shoulder. "Can we go inside?" he whispered, "It's getting kind of cold out here." As if to prove it to Zack, he huddled close to his boyfriend and started shivering.

Zack laughed and led his boyfriend inside, immediately pulling him over to where Lulu and Zell were. "Where's your dates?" he asked.

Zell grumbled something about not being able to make it. Lulu smiled a little at the blonde. "I decided not to come with Wakka," she said, "so now it seems that Zell has no other choice but to be my partner for tonight." The girl smiled like she had just pulled the most wonderful prank in the world.

Zack chuckled and looked at their outfits. Lulu was dressed in a purple and black dress that came down just below her knees, with ruffles at the bottom, and straps that tied behind her neck. Her hair was still in the malicious braids that she put up with, only she was wearing some kind of hair ornament in her bun. Zell was wearing a black suit just like what Zack was.

"You look cute, Cloud," Zell said, grinning.

Cloud blushed and looked down. "Th-thanks," he stuttered, edging closer to Zack.

Zack smiled at his boyfriend and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. A song started to play and every couple immediately started dancing together. Zack looked over at his boyfriend and held out his hand. Cloud blushed and took Zack's hand, watching as Zack led him onto the dance floor and pulled him close. His arm wrapped around Cloud's waist. Cloud felt his cheeks start to become hot with embarrassment. They began to move with each other and Cloud felt as if he were flying in Zack's arms. He felt as though nothing bad could happen to them. Cloud had put his head against Zack's chest and listened to the older teen's heartbeat. He thought that Zack's heartbeat was better than the lovely lyrics that surrounded them.

Zack put his other hand in Cloud's hair. He played with the blonde spikes and kissed Cloud's forehead. He did admit that he saw a few students watching them, but he'd never tell Cloud that. Zack thought that he saw two girls dancing together, but he wasn't sure if they were just friends dancing with each other or if they were actually _together_. Cloud seemed to be peaceful after some time. At first, Zack thought that the blonde would fall asleep, but he didn't. Zack kissed Cloud on the cheek as the song ended and they pulled apart.

"I love you," he said.

Cloud blushed and replied, "I love you, too."

They danced about three or four more songs together before Cloud said that he didn't think that he could move his feet anymore. This, however, didn't stop a certain crazy blonde going over to Cloud and asking for a dance. Zell had bowed to him and held his hand out, asking Cloud if he wanted to dance. Cloud blushed as some people were looking. He was about to brush Zell off until Zack nudged him. He looked at his boyfriend and he was nodding to Zell and mouthing _Go dance with him_. Cloud didn't think he could refuse whether he wanted to or not. After all, the guy's date had blown him off and he had had to dance with Lulu most of the night.

Zell had two arms around Cloud, just above the blonde's buttocks because he knew that Zack would kill him if he went any lower. Cloud awkwardly had his arms on Zell's shoulders. They sidestepped and moved in all kinds of directions. Cloud thought that Zell wasn't as good of a dancer as Zack, but he would never tell the older blonde that.

Zell was looking off somewhere. Cloud followed his gaze to see that he was looking at Zack leaning against a wall talking to some guy that Cloud _thought_ he knew. Zell looked down at Cloud and smiled, making the blonde blush. "You know, Zack is really lucky," he said.

Cloud tilted his head a little. "What do you mean?" he asked.

He pressed his lips together and sighed. "Well, he has _you_, Cloud," Zell answered, "I mean, seriously, I'm jealous." Cloud smiled a little when he saw that Zell was kidding at that last part. "Cloud, you really are cute."

Cloud blushed when he figured that Zell was only kidding again, but he saw that he meant it. _Holy shit_, was went through Cloud's mind. Zell thought that he was cute… "Zell," Cloud said, not thinking of anything else to say.

"I know, you're with Zack but if he ever hurts you in some way, come to me and I'll make sure everything's okay," he said, grinning and holding a thumb up.

"Zell, I'm starting to think that you think of me more than just cute," Cloud replied, looking at the blonde and hoping for an answer.

Zell let go of Cloud. "Yeah," he whispered, "but if I say all the details, Zack will choke me to death."

Cloud looked confused and he jumped when he heard Zack's voice behind him say his name. He spun around to see his boyfriend there, smiling at him. He smiled back at Zack and laughed a little, as if he were nervous about something.

"So did you want to go to that place Lulu was talking about?" Zack asked.

"Sure," Cloud said, nodding. He saw that Zack didn't move and was just staring at him. Zell was also staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"Aren't you going to let go of Zell," Zack asked, pointing to Cloud's hands.

Cloud looked to see that his hands were still on Zell's shoulders. Zell laughed as Cloud dropped his hands and blushed terribly. Zack chuckled and wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders, kissing the side of his head.

"You are so cute," he mumbled into his ear.

Cloud continued to blush as he thought of Zell telling him that he was cute. He still couldn't believe it. Zell thought that he was cute. Zell probably had a crush on him. The idea made Cloud's stomach uneasy and the fact that Zell had to ride with them didn't help much. The only reason Zell was with them was because he said that he didn't want to be in a car full of girls with Lulu. Cloud had to sit in the middle since he was the smallest and the poor blonde felt like he had to squeeze between the two. One of them would've sat in the back, but the car was piled with junk and whatnot. Zack had wrapped his arm around him though, pulling him farther away from Zell. Cloud wondered what it would be like if Zack knew how Zell felt about him.

The whole time they were in the restaurant, Cloud kept watching Zell. He saw that Zell would look and catch him looking at him and Zell would grin and wink at Cloud, making the younger blonde blush. Zack seemed to be oblivious to all of it and Cloud was happy for that. He had thought of what it would be like for Zack to know about Zell's feelings and the results in his head didn't come out so good.

Cloud was yet again stuck in the middle of Zell and Zack, two boys that loved him. He would look over at Zell and try to imagine how he felt. His heart ached as he remembered when he thought that Zack was in love with someone else. Suddenly, he felt sad for Zell. The poor guy had gotten blown off by his date and was crushing on his best friend's boyfriend. It sounded like one of those teenage chick flicks that were always shown on TV.

There was one moment where Cloud accidentally touched Zell's hand and he swore he could see the hope in his eyes. Cloud looked over at Zack but he was busy teasing one of the girl's about her date. Zack teasing the girls didn't bother him that much anymore. He knew that Zack only did it because he was a nice guy. And Zack always saved some sort of teasing for Cloud, whether it was about something he said or did or just tackling him onto the nearest surface and tickling him.

"What?" Zell asked Cloud. He almost whispered, just in case everyone started looking at them.

Cloud realized that he had been staring for quite a while and shook his head, embarrassed. "Nothing," he said, "I was just thinking."

Zell smiled as he realized what he was thinking about and poked the blonde underneath the table. Cloud jumped a little, as Zell had poked him in the side. Zell was amused and chuckled softly. He poked Cloud again and Zell heard Cloud mutter something.

"Are you poking my boyfriend?" Zack asked, smiling.

Cloud blushed. This was what he didn't like when he and Zack were out together and their friends were around. Zack would always do or say something to make him blush.

Zell grinned. "Yup," he said and turned back to his food.

Cloud felt like all eyes were on him. He wanted to bury his face into something or at least slide underneath the rug so that everyone wasn't looking at him and commenting on how cute he was.

* * *

Zack moved his hand across Cloud's exposed chest. The buttons on his shirt were undone with his jacket somewhere in the front seat. All the junk had been moved as much out of the way. Their breathing had picked up a while ago when they started kissing. Cloud had said no at first but he couldn't resist Zack. Now he was panting and begging Zack to take him right there in the backseat. Zack swirled his tongue in Cloud's mouth and the blonde moaned. He mumbled Zack's name a few times before he found his back in contact with the seat. Zack rubbed up his torso and kissed his neck a few times.

"Zack," Cloud moaned. Cloud felt his boyfriend pull away and sit up. He whimpered in protest and looked up to see Zack licking his top lip. "Zack," he said with confusion in his voice.

"I'm sorry Cloud, but this just isn't comfortable," he said, kissing Cloud's forehead.

"Oh, I thought you were mad about something."

Zack smiled and Cloud sat up. "What would I be mad about?" he asked.

Cloud wondered if he should tell him. He wanted to because he knew that Zell was his best friend, but he didn't want to just in case that friendship between them broke. He didn't want to be like one of those girls that would try to become between two guys. Cloud shook his head and smiled. "N-nothing," he said, "I guess I'm just being paranoid."

The older teen smiled and kissed Cloud's nose. "You are too cute," he said.

* * *

I really need to keep up-to-date on this...

Sorry, no sex. Hehehehe...

And no Cloud in a dress...that's saved for another time.

Anyway, I'm depressed. Stupid prom... It's less than a damn month away and I STILL don't have a freaking date. I blame myself...and the dude that I like. It's all my fault for being too shy, it's all his fault for being too cute. This is when I really need a wishing well and a lucky penny...


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter Thirty-Six**

After prom, it seemed like school would never come to an end. Cloud was looking forward to summer vacation so that he could spend some more time with Zack. Zack didn't want the next school year to come because that meant that Cloud wouldn't be his tutor anymore and he'd be put in regular classes. Tiffany had said something about putting Zell into a regular class as well and Zack liked the idea because he thought that at least he'd have one good friend in his classes.

Cloud was still nervous about prom even though it was already over. His stomach still fluttered and his heart still jumped at the word. Zack told him that students had looked at them when they were dancing and that made him look at everyone he walked by in the hallways. They hardly looked back at him though, only a few would stare at him to wonder what he was looking at but that was it. It wasn't really the dancing part that nerved him as much, though, because it was already over with. He was more worried about Zell than anything else. Zell hadn't told Zack yet, even though Cloud told him over the weekend and on Monday that he had to tell Zack.

Zell wasn't sure how he should tell Zack, though. It wasn't like he could just say, "Hey, I like you're boyfriend; bye." That wouldn't work. He knew that Zack was going to be mad at him. Zell had tried to make up some kind of letter that he could write to Zack and explain everything but he wasn't good with writing. The only way was to tell Zack and that scared him a bit. It wasn't that he was scared of what Zack would do; he just didn't want their friendship to blast off because of some stupid little crush. He had shared so many days with Zack that made him laugh. They had pulled so many pranks together and even took turns puking at one of Lulu's parties. People often thought that _they_ were dating. Zell had considered it a few times, but there was just too many people getting in his way that he gave up afterwards and decided to just stick with staying as best buds.

He couldn't ask for anything better than being friends with Zack. Even though at some point he would've liked to gone out with Zack, he still thought of him better as a friend. They were almost like brothers. How could a _dating_ relationship come between that? How would a little _crush_ on Cloud ruin that?

Cloud was Zack's, though. Cloud would always be Zack's, even if they didn't end up spending eternity together. Zell would just be there for whenever they needed him. He shook his head at the thought and started to think about how that girl had blown him off. She had called him Sunday night saying that her little brother was sick, but Zell knew better. He wasn't an idiot, even though he acted like it sometimes.

When lunch started, Zell had to drag himself to the cafeteria. Zack and Cloud were already in line. Zack had his arms around Cloud's waist and was telling him something that made Cloud blush. Cloud looked away from Zack and gently pushed him away, laughing. Zell walked over to the couple and waved, grinning at them. They both waved back and Cloud gave him that look that told him to tell Zack. Zell sighed.

"Zack," he said, "I have to tell you something."

Zack nodded, smiling. "Okay," he said and asked, "What is it?"

Zell shifted. The girls in front of them were going on about one of their boyfriends. Apparently, one of their other so-called friends had a crush on him and the girl with a scratch mark on her eye had beat her up. They went on and on about other things as well, but Zell had turned back towards Zack and Cloud. "I don't want to tell you where there are so many witnesses," he whispered, looking around at all the students sitting or standing and a few teachers that were monitoring to make sure that a _scene_ didn't happen.

"Oh," Zack said, "do you want to tell me after school?"

Zell looked at Cloud. Cloud shrugged a bit, not making it too obvious for Zack to see. He nodded. "Yeah, sure…that sounds good," he said.

"Why don't you want to tell me with so many witnesses?" Zack asked with that smile still on his face.

Cloud looked away and Zell sighed. "You…aren't going to like it," he said.

The smile on Zack's face disappeared. It was one of Zack's rare frowns. Hardly anyone had seen Zack frown, but it wasn't like seeing him smile. Seeing Zack's smile made you smile, it made you feel like you didn't have to be above and beyond to be great at things. The frown was as if you were a puppy that had done wrong and was getting it's nose rubbed in its own business. "Why?" he asked.

Zell sighed again. "Zack, I'll tell you after school," he said as the line grew shorter. He looked over at Cloud and saw the blonde trying to comfort his boyfriend. His chest ached. Zack's shoulders sagged a bit and he kissed Cloud on the cheek. Zell hoped that Cloud would be there when he told him because he didn't feel like going to the hospital at all. How would he explain that to his parents, or rather Lulu's parents?

* * *

It seemed like the day would never end for Zell. In a way, he didn't want it to end because that meant that after school it was a possibility that Zack would beat him up. For once in his life, he didn't want school to end. It did, however. The final bell rang and Zell drug his feet to his locker and threw everything in there. He grabbed his bag and felt his heart sink as he saw Zack walking up towards him. Zell felt like he'd already been punched by the teen.

"Hey Zell," Zack said, "What did you want to tell me?"

That was when Zell noticed that, for once, Cloud wasn't with him. "Where's Cloud?" he asked, distracting himself and Zack from the question and looking around. He hoped that the blonde was nearby when Zack was about to beat the shit out of him.

"He had to go talk to one of his teachers," Zack answered. He patted Zell's shoulder as they exited into the parking lot. "What did you want to tell me?" he asked again.

Zell sighed and looked down. "There's someone that I like, but there's no possible way that we'd ever be together. He's really cute and everyone tells him that. You're not going to like it when I say this, though," Zell said and stopped walking.

Zack crossed his arms and looked at him. "I'm not going to like it?" he repeated.

Zell shook his head. "The boy, the one that I have a crush on, is Cloud." He waited and waited for the punch. He expected a fist to come in contact with his face by now. Zell looked at Zack and saw that his mouth hung open and his eyes stared at him. It was almost similar to getting a stare down by Squall. He knew that Zack as pissed.

"What?" Zack asked, his voice coming out harder, perhaps a little harder than what he had intended.

"Zack, I love Cloud. He's cute, adorable, and I don't want to see him hurt. I know that you love him and you'd do anything to keep him safe, but he means a lot to me." He saw Zack's hands clench into a fist, his knuckles cracking. "Go ahead Zack, punch me. I probably deserve it, anyway. It won't change how I feel about Cloud, though," he added.

Zack started to walk away, but turned back towards Zell. Zell wasn't looking when Zack's fist connected with his nose. Zack was breathing hard and he looked like he wanted to do more than just punch Zell in the face. Zell cradled his nose in his hand. He wasn't sure that it was Zack that had hit him, it felt more like a truck. The blonde was pretty sure that he had heard a crack and a pop, and was positive that his nose was completely broken. He felt blood ooze down and groaned. It didn't even feel like his nose was still on his face. _Damn, that really did hurt_. Zell opened his eyes, seeing a blurry image and wondering when he had ever closed them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cloud walking towards them. He gave Zell a weird look as he held his nose.

"Um," he said, raising his eyebrow.

"I told him," Zell said, his voice muffled behind his hands. He continued to groan about the pain in his nose.

Zack looked over at Cloud. His face fell. First he was anxious to know what Zell wanted to tell him, then he was excited because Zell was actually starting to like someone, but then he felt betrayed and angered, and now he felt as if he were the one that had gotten punched in the face. "You knew?" he asked.

Cloud felt his heart sting. "He told me at prom," Cloud answered, looking away from Zack..

Zack shook his head. Why hadn't Cloud told him about this? Weren't they supposed to tell each other everything? Wasn't there supposed to be no secrets between them? That was the part that made the relationship a relationship, right? "I can't believe this," he said and asked, "So did you two just plan on not telling me?"

Cloud shook his head. "No," he said, walking over to Zell as if to defend him, "Zack, it wasn't like that. I didn't want you to know because Zell's your best friend." Cloud bent down towards Zell and asked him if he was okay. Zell nodded and Zack watched as his boyfriend helped the older blonde.

"That makes it worse, though. I feel like you just dumped a garbage load of shit on me." Zack stopped himself from going any further. _No_, he told himself, _remember self-control. You can't be like your father, Zack. You can't become him, that's not who you are. Look deep inside yourself and find the puppy. Just let it go, Zack; it's not like they did stuff. Let it go_. He sighed and shook his head. Zack looked down for a moment before looking back up at Cloud with an aching smile. "Why didn't I notice something like this?" he asked both of them.

"I hadn't made a move on Cloud like the others," Zell answered, wiggling different parts of his face to see if anything else hurt.

Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and kissed his lips. At this moment, he didn't care who watched them. Let the whole world see that they were in love, it didn't matter who saw. "Zack, I'd never leave you for Zell, you should know that."

Zack sighed and wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist, kissing the top of his head. "Yeah, I know," he said. Zack looked over at Zell. "Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

Zell nodded, still holding his nose. Cloud smiled at him and again, they were in Zack's car squished together in the front seat with Cloud in the middle. Zack drove Zell to the hospital and thankfully, Zell's nose wasn't broken, just slightly bruised. He was told to put an ice pack on it and to keep away from "nose-activity". The nurses there kept flirting around Zack and Zell, giggling at whatever they said or how they answered the question of how it had happened. Zack said that they were just playing around and he "accidentally" punched Zell in the nose. One of the older nurses said something like, "Oh, you know how boys are," and continued flirting with them. Cloud had tugged on Zack's jacket a few times and looked at him a certain way. Zack found it amusing and had to smile at the blonde. He held Cloud's hand as they walked out of the hospital, kissing his cheek.

Zack decided to make it up to Zell by taking him out somewhere. They went to their favorite ice cream parlor. Zack bought himself and Zell a hotdog while Cloud just wanted a shake. Cloud sucked down the ice cream through the straw as Zell and Zack ate their hotdogs, talking about whatever. It was as if Zack had never punched Zell at all.

"You can't be mad at me for this though," Zell told Zack, pointing to his nose to refer what he meant. There were little kids in the shop and Zell wasn't about to destroy their minds…yet. At least, he wouldn't ruin and child's imagination unless they were about twelve or older.

Zack shrugged, shaking his head. Underneath the table, Cloud grabbed his hand. "Don't remind him, Zell," he said.

His boyfriend just patted his knee though. "It's okay, Cloud." He looked at Zell. "I guess not," he said. "I'll admit that it is hard _to not_ fall for Cloud." Zack winked at his boyfriend, making the blonde blush.

Zell smiled at Cloud. "So does this mean…?" Zell hid the three fingers that he held up. Cloud blushed when he understood what that meant.

Zack shook his head. "No," he said plainly, but you could tell that there was a laugh in his voice.

Zell pouted. "That's not fair, Fair," he said. He laughed to himself. "Ha, I love making pun of your name."

Zack shook his head. "You're an idiot," Zack replied. Cloud giggled. "Don't you start," Zack said, smiling.

"Okay," Zell said, "how about this: if you guys split up or something bad happens to you," he said, pointing to Zack, "Cloud comes to me for comfort."

Cloud blushed and looked away, watching the little kids try to win something out of a claw machine. He heard Zack hit Zell on the back of the head and looked back at the two boys. "I'm not leaving Cloud for anything," he said.

"Well, Zack, you can't just haunt Cloud the rest of his life as a ghost," Zell said.

Cloud rolled his eyes at their conversation.

"Yes I can," Zack answered.

"Both of you are idiots," Cloud said, finishing his shake. He got up to throw the cup away and thought he heard the two boys whine. He looked back to see that both of them were giving him a puppy pout. Even though he had grown to Zack's, Zell's was still just as cute. He smile at their idiocy and looked away from them. They said his name and he ignored them as he dropped his empty cup in the trash bin.

"Cloud," Zack whined, "come back."

Cloud poked his nose as he sat down, shaking his head and smiling. "No, you guys are idiots, you're morons," he corrected himself.

Zell acted like he was about to cry but Cloud only giggled. "Zack, he's hurting our feelings," Zell said, sticking his lip out.

Zack sighed in defeat. "We'll have to lock him up in a closet and then show him the puppy pout," Zack suggested.

Cloud watched as the two dorks continued to tease him. After a while, they threw away the rest of their stuff and got back into Zack's car. Cloud put his head on Zack's arm, letting a sigh escape his lips as he cuddled closer to his boyfriend. Zell saw them together and felt his stomach drop. He used the window as a distraction but that didn't help. He watched out of the corner of his eye as the two loved on one another other as Zack drove skillfully with one hand.

Zell was dropped off at Lulu's, since that was basically where he lived. He walked into the house and went to the extra room that the Kisaragi's had given him. The only time he ever went _home_ was every other weekend. Lulu's parents had practically raised him ever since he became friends with the girl. They thought that he'd be a good boyfriend to either of their girls but things started to turn a little when he told them that he was gay. After that, they had been telling Lulu and Yuffie that he could be the baby's godfather. At first, Zell wasn't sure of being around a bunch of little girls that looked and acted like Lulu or Yuffie, but he warmed to the idea.

His room here was better than the one he originally had. All of the items that he treasured were here. He only made it look like he still lived with his parents by keeping the crappy shit that they had gotten him scattered all over the floor. His mom didn't nag him to clean his room; she didn't care about anything that he did. His dad didn't notice when he came home, he was too high or drunk to really notice anything. Sure, Zell's life was a little sad, but that didn't mean that he wanted to send himself down to the happy place. Zell loved his life; he just wished that he were as lucky as Zack.

It wasn't that he was _jealous_ of Zack; he just thought that Zack was a really lucky guy, despite his dad. He wished that he could find someone like Cloud. Zell sighed at the thought of the younger blonde. He shook his head. Cloud… He didn't blame Zack for punching him because he was asking for it, after all. Okay, so maybe he was a _little_ jealous that Zack was with Cloud, but he wasn't jealous _of Zack_. The thought of Cloud, however, made his heart ache. He wasn't quite sure if he really wanted _Cloud_, or someone like Cloud.

* * *

Cloud twirled a strand of Zack's hair around his finger. His other hand was on Zack's chest, and he was staring down at his boyfriend with loving eyes. Zack had one arm behind his head as if it were a pillow, even though they were already on Zack's bed, and his other hand was Cloud's hip.

"Would you ever want a threesome, Zack?" Cloud asked randomly.

Zack lifted an eyebrow at his boyfriend. Cloud realized what he had said and blushed, groaning from embarrassment. "Why do you ask, do _you _want a threesome?"

Cloud hit Zack in the chest. "No, I just thought that it was supposed to be a guy's fantasy," he said, blushing.

A chuckled escaped Zack's lips and he kissed Cloud's forehead. "Cloud, you are a guy," he pointed out.

Cloud pulled away from him. "You know what I mean, Zack," he whined, "guys that are more…" Cloud groaned and hid his face in his hands.

Zack laughed and hugged Cloud, bringing him back down to lay beside him. He pulled Cloud's hands away from his face and pushed a few blonde spikes out of his face. Zack smiled at his boyfriend and kissed his nose. "I love you," he said.

"I love you," Cloud said, snuggling closer to Zack. Zack kissed the blonde again and rubbed his back. "Zack, don't, I'll fall asleep."

Zack chuckled. "Cloud, you're tired," Zack said, "You need to go to sleep."

Cloud grumbled something but in the next few minutes, he was sleeping in Zack's embrace. Zack sighed and pulled away from the blonde so that he wasn't smothered in his sleep. He kissed Cloud's hair before he walked out into the kitchen. Tiffany was sitting at the table, playing a crossword puzzle and drinking coffee.

"Hey," he said, going to the fridge and pulling it open. He grabbed a bottle of water before closing the door and sitting at the table with his aunt. Zack sighed as he undid the cap and took a big sip.

"Is Cloud asleep?" she asked, putting her pencil down and pushing the crossword book aside.

Zack nodded. "Yeah, he finally fell asleep." He shook his head. "I still can't believe that our relationship has lasted this long."

Tiffany smiled. "Well, Zack, you've finally found someone that's willing to put up with your crap." She smiled. "I hate to say this, because it's sort of offending, but he's the girl in your relationship. He loves you just as much as you love him and one day you two will start a lovely family together."

Zack graoned. "Please, no more baby talk," he whined, burrying his face in his hands. "Not for the next ten years or so," he added.

His aunt laughed. "I can't help it, Zack. At some point in everyone's life, they say that they want a baby," she explained. "I'll admit that I've considered it a few times, but that requires having someone to grant me that wish. You just never know when someone's going to mention something about babies; sometimes it's when their little kids, sometimes it's when their teenagers or at a very young age, and even middle aged and elderly people try to have kids," she said.

Zack shook his head at the thought of an old grandma and grandpa _getting-it-on_. "Yeah, I know, but this is Cloud. This is the boy that I want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Have you two talked about getting married?" she asked.

"No," Zack said, shaking his head. "We may have mentioned it, but we never _talked_ about it."

"I think you two would make a cute couple," she said, smiling.

"You're going to cry if we get married, aren't you?" Zack asked.

"Yes," she answered quickly, nodding.

Zack shook his head. "Weddings are supposed to be happy, not the moment when everyone cries."

She laughed a little. "I know Zack, but usually a lot of people cry at a wedding. It's almost like I'll never see you again, but I know I will." She shook her head. "I don't know it's just something that happens. They'll be tears of joy," she added.

Zack grinned. "Yeah, you'll be happy that I've finally settled down," he said.

She pushed his arm a little. "Oh Zack, I've been happy about that ever since you started dating Cloud."

They heard Rick open his bedroom door and watched as he and Steve walked out together. Rick pinned Steve against the door after it closed, kissing his lips. Steve blushed, pulling away from him and walking into the kitchen. Rick followed like a desperate puppy, begging for attention. They sat down together and Rick immediately started kissing Steve in places that he _knew_ drove the man crazy.

"Looks like you two had fun," Zack said, grinning.

Steve looked around, noticing that his son wasn't around. "Where's Cloud?" he asked.

"Sleeping," Zack answered, smiling as he thought of his blonde boyfriend.

"Ah, did you two have your own little fun, too?" Rick asked, grinning over at Steve.

Zack shook his head. "No," he replied, feeling his face turn red from embarrassment, "he's just tired."

Steve sighed. "He's been tired ever since his teachers started giving him more homework," he said, thinking about his son.

"It's because the end of the school year is coming," Tiffany said, shaking her head. I told them at a meeting to not give so much homework and only do what was necessary, but they think that everything is necessary."

Everyone sat still for a moment. Rick reached over and grabbed Steve's hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing his fingers. Steve looked over at the man and smiled. Zack watched the two and his thoughts went to Cloud. He sighed at the thought of his blonde boyfriend. He loved Cloud so much.

"Zack, are you still buying that thing for Cloud?" Rick asked.

The teen looked up at him and nodded with a small smile on his face. "Yeah," he answered and asked, "are you guys still helping me?"

Rick and Tiffany nodded. "Of course," his aunt said.

"What are you buying?" Steve asked. The three looked at him with a serious look. "What?" he asked.

"You can't tell Cloud," Zack said.

Steve smiled and shook his head. "I'm not going to tell him. Besides, if you wanted to buy something for him, I could probably help you out."

Zack smiled as the three adults talked about the gift that he wanted to get for Cloud. He had already planned ahead in case he would have to get a summer job to work things out, but he couldn't wait to see Cloud's face when he gave it to him.

* * *

Okay, so there's the chapter! THis was more about Zell, I just had to write something about him. Zell needs a boyfriend. Hmm, Irvine or Squall? You guys better decide and pick or else I will do something drastic with this! Oh, and who would top? Irvine or Zell? Or in the other considered relationship... Squall or Zell?

REPLIES:

"Yes, I figured that the necklace was too much and gona make Cloud girlier but I had to do something on Cloud's mom. I know I don't talk much abotu Zack's mom but she will either be at the end or in the sequel, which I know I talk to you guys about so don't act like you dont know it."

"I meant to mention this - I KNOW I've talked about making a sequel, just like I said. THIS WILL ANSWER A LOT AND LOTS OF MANY CONFUSED REVIEWERS AND QUESTIONS! No, I don't plan on making this a mpreg and I don't even think they actually will get married or have an adopted baby or whatever. That's for another story X)

"Wow...you guys sure do know how to make a girl feel about asking a crush to prom. (helookedatmetoday*squeal*) I've been trying to get my brother or friends to do it. But my brother is stupid and my friends don't see him that much, unlike my brother because he's in one of his classes. He says he doesn't know how to ask someone out for himself, though. And dont tell me to walk up to him and ask him, cause that won't work. I don't write letters anymore, that was back in 6th grade when I wrote "I like you, do you like me?" stuff and that's lame. I'm the stupid lion from the Wizard of Oz, expect i won't get any courage. (hefreakinglookedatmetoday)


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter Thirty-Seven**

So, do you ever remember a feeling that you had when you thought someone was hiding something from you? Well, that's how Cloud felt at this moment; and it was driving him absolutely nuts. Every time he asked Zack about it, he always changed the subject about something else. Cloud had mentioned that he thought Zack hated surprises, but Zack only answered that he didn't like when the surprise was for him. Cloud had even tried to ask his dad, but the older man said that he knew nothing. He wasn't about to ask the whole table at lunch because he knew that half of them probably didn't know in the first place; and if they did, they probably would've told him already.

"So, that's how my cat got stuck in the trash," Zell said, shrugging.

Lulu lifted her eyes at him and said, "Zell, you don't have a cat."

"I used to," he replied, "but my mom ran over it with her car."

Everyone sat there, silent. They weren't sure whether to laugh at the fact that Zell's old cat got stuck in the trash can, or be sad that his mom ran the cat over. Cloud looked over at Zack, hoping that he had some sort of expression on his face. Zack was smiling, however, and it seemed really awkward for a moment when someone says that their mom ran over their only pet.

"Hey," Zack said, "remember when he tried to eat that fake mouse?"

Zell laughed and started to tell the story as Zack looked over at Cloud and winked at him. Cloud blushed and scooted close to Zack. He kissed him on the cheek. He wanted to ask Zack if he was getting him something, but he didn't want to ask while everyone was around. However, it would be nice if he could get a little help from the perky girls with their pestering.

The bell rang, though, ending Cloud's chances of mentioning the subject to Zack in front of their friends. Zack and Zell were talking about something, probably Zell's cat, and Cloud felt the urge to just shove Zack into the nearest wall and beg him to tell him what it was. Cloud grabbed Zack's hand and squeezed it, causing Zack to react by pulling back his hand.

"What's wrong?" he asked Cloud and stopped in the hallway. Zell stopped too, which made Cloud's stomach drop.

Cloud shook his head. "I can't take it anymore Zack, you have to tell me. What are you getting me?" he asked.

Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's forehead. "You'll find out soon," he answered. "I don't think you've ever been this impatient for anything, Cloud."

Cloud blushed as he realized that Zack was right and tried to hide in Zack's shoulder. He heard his boyfriend laugh. _Great, now he's laughing at me_, Cloud thought. The blonde groaned when Zack pulled him back and held Cloud's face in his hands.

"Hey Zack, what _are_ you getting for Cloud?" Zell asked, grinning.

Zack looked over at the blonde. "Shut it," he said and turned back to Cloud. "I can't tell you because then it won't mean much," he said to his boyfriend, kissing his lips. "I love you."

"I love you," Cloud replied, "but-"

Zack shook his head and wrapped his arms around Cloud's shoulder. Cloud looked over at Zell and the older blonde grinned at him. Obviously he knew something and Cloud wanted to know what it was. When Zack pulled back to look at him, he smiled and took his hand in his, leading him back to class. Zell grinned at Cloud again and waved to the two before walking back to his own class. Zack walked into the room, pulling Cloud along with him. They sat next to each, and Zack kissed Cloud's cheek. Cloud blushed and looked away from his boyfriend, trying to focus on the notes that he had taken. Zack smiled at him and stood up. It didn't surprise him that Cloud didn't look to see what he was doing, but it did surprise Cloud when Zack stood behind him and wrapped his arms around his neck with his chin resting on the blonde's shoulder.

"Zack," Cloud muttered. "You know I'm not going to be able to concentrate with you over my shoulder like that."

His boyfriend chuckled and kissed the side of his neck, making more kisses up to his ear. Cloud shivered and felt a moan escape when Zack's lips kissed the sensitive spot behind his ear. Zack grinned at the way Cloud reacted and kissed the spot again.

"You are so cute," Zack said.

"You're just so persistent," he replied.

Zack chuckled. "Maybe," he answered, "but you love me no matter what." He wrapped his arms around Cloud tighter and rocked him back and forth.

"I do," Cloud said, closing his eyes and pushing his head back against Zack's chest. He felt those hands rub up to his shoulders and sighed. "Zack," he moaned and made another humming noise.

"Cloud," Zack said, stopping his rubbing and sitting down beside his boyfriend. "Do you really have to study?"

Cloud smiled and blushed. "Yes," he replied. He saw Zack pout and couldn't help but smile even more. Cloud knew what Zack was wanting, and the thought brought a crimson shade to his cheeks.

Zack sighed. He wrapped his arms around Cloud and pulled him to where he was sitting on his lap. His arms slid up and down Cloud's sides, making his boyfriend squirm. Zack caught Cloud's chin and brought their lips together.

"Zack," Cloud whined, "I have to study."

Zack groaned. "Oh, haven't you ever heard of a 'study break'?"

Cloud blushed. "Zack, I can't take a break," he said, standing up. Zack pulled him back down, though. Cloud groaned, "Zack."

"C'mon Cloud," Zack begged, sticking his lip out, "please?"

Cloud almost succumbed to the puppy pout but shook his head. "No," he said, "I'm not taking a break until you tell me what you're getting me."

Zack growled. "Damn it, Cloud."

Cloud giggled and stood up. He went back over to his chair and watched his boyfriend press his lips together. Zack was so cute when he pouted. Cloud leant over and kissed his boyfriend on the lips. "There," he said, "is that good enough for a break."

Zack frowned. "No," he answered, "but you owe me when I take you home."

* * *

Zack had Cloud pinned to the bed's mattress. Cloud grunted and whimpered Zack's name. He bucked his hips a bit, but it wasn't in a way that he wanted Zack to take it. Cloud grunted, wanting his boyfriend to get off of him. He finally gave up after his small body proved to be useless against Zack's bulkiness. This was Zack's way of getting revenge for not kissing him in class. In a way, Cloud liked the idea because that meant that Zack would be kissing him like this. On the other hand, Cloud thought that it was annoying. He loved Zack, but he had studying to do. However, he couldn't just push his boyfriend away or tell him to back off until the exams were over. He knew that if he told Zack to leave him alone, Zack would just give him that puppy pout and he'd be giving in to his boyfriend. So it was more of a fact that he wouldn't tell Zack to go away instead.

After a while, Zack pulled away and sat up at the edge of his bed. He stretched, raising his arms above his head. Cloud smiled and wrapped his arms around Zack from behind, squeezing him tightly. Zack made a sound that Cloud had to giggle to. He turned a little, looking at the small blonde burying his nose into his back. Zack lowered his arms and covered his hands with Cloud's. He kissed the side of Cloud's head.

"You're so cute," Zack said.

Cloud groaned into his back, mumbling something.

"I didn't understand that, Cloud," he said.

Cloud pulled away from Zack's back and rested his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder. "I am not," he repeated.

Zack smiled and kissed Cloud's head again. "You are too," he said. "You're adorable and you know it."

Cloud shook his head. "I'm not cute," he pouted.

Zack sighed. He pinned Cloud to the bed and climbed over him. Cloud whined and tried to roll away from his boyfriend, but Zack held his arms over his head. Zack grinned and kissed Cloud's lips. "You're cute," he whispered, kissing his lips again. Cloud groaned. "You're adorable," Zack continued, "lovely, pretty, beautiful, and…" Zack put his lips against Cloud's ears and whispered, "…sexy."

Cloud shivered. He felt Zack kiss behind his ear and moaned a little. Zack nibbled on his earlobe, making Cloud go insane. "Zack," he whined, "stop." One of Zack's hands ran down his side and Cloud whimpered. "Zack," he whispered, swallowing. When Zack pulled away, he looked up into those blue eyes that drove him mad. He squirmed a little and wrapped his arms around Zack's neck. Cloud brought their lips together and hummed when Zack's fingers crawled up his shirt.

Zack pulled away and smiled down at Cloud. Cloud blushed and shifted a little. "I love you so much," Zack said, kissing Cloud repeatedly. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack tighter.

"Zack," he whimpered into his boyfriend's ear.

Zack purred. "What is it, baby?"

Cloud felt his face growing hotter by the second and suck in a deep breath when Zack started kissing his neck. "Zack," he whimpered a few times, gently pulling at his boyfriend's hair. Zack kissed his cheek and looked at him, waiting for him to say something. "I want you to make love to me," he said, groaning when Zack pulled away from him.

He sat up, watching to what his boyfriend would do. Cloud thought that he had done something to upset Zack, and it made his heart beat frantically. Zack just smiled at him, however. Cloud said his boyfriend's name and stretched his hand out until he touched Zack's. Zack brought Cloud's hand to his lips and kissed it, sending a warm feeling flow through Cloud's stomach. Zack grab the bottom of Cloud's shirt and pulled it over his head, making the blonde gasp. Cloud watched as Zack took off his own shirt and sucked in a deep breath when he saw Zack's bare chest. He mentally slapped himself because he had seen Zack without a shirt millions of times. Okay, maybe not _millions_, but he had seen him shirtless quite a few times. Zack leaned forward and brought their lips together. He pushed Cloud down onto his back and heard the blonde moan.

Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack's neck and whimpered when Zack pulled away from him. He reached out to Zack, begging him to come back, but Zack just smiled and undid Cloud's jeans. Cloud closed his eyes, hoping that it would help him not blush as much. He shivered when he felt his pants slide off of his legs and whimpered when he felt Zack's hand rubbing his thigh. Zack's hand moved in small circles, making Cloud moan. Cloud felt Zack's hand leave him after a while and heard Zack undoing his own belt and pants. His curiosity got the better of him and he opened his eyes, seeing his boyfriend completely nude in front of him. He felt his cheeks turn red and covered his face with his hands.

Zack chuckled and grabbed Cloud's hands, pulling them away from his face. Cloud swallowed as he looked up at his boyfriend, watching him smile. Zack winked at him and leaned over the blonde, reaching for the nightstand drawer. To do this, Zack had to hover over Cloud, and that meant that their arousals had to brush against each other. Cloud groaned at the feeling and bent his knees up and spread his legs, giving Zack's arousal more access to his own. He moaned and shut his eyes tightly, hearing the noises of shuffling.

Cloud opened his eyes when Zack leaned back. He saw the object that Zack held in his hand and blushed when he squirted it over his hand. Zack licked his lips and tapped Cloud's butt cheek, moving his way towards the blonde's entrance. Cloud gasped and bit his lip when one finger slid inside him.

With his other hand, Zack coaxed Cloud by rubbing the side of his leg. He teased the blonde every little bit by pinching his knees, causing Cloud to jolt up in surprise. Zack smiled and slowly put another finger inside Cloud. He waited for Cloud to say stop or if it hurt too much. However, he said nothing but Zack's name and would rock his hips every now and then, signaling for Zack to do more than just play with him. Zack smiled at Cloud's neediness and leaned forward to kiss his little blonde.

When Cloud had become fully prepared, Zack went through the whole process of leaning over Cloud again. Cloud groaned, writhing underneath Zack. He watched as Zack pulled back something that he must've forgotten. He bit his lips when he saw what Zack was holding and watched as his boyfriend easily slipped it on. Zack smiled at him and poked himself at Cloud's entrance, making the blonde squirm.

"Zack," Cloud whined, "no teasing."

Zack only chuckled and slowly pushed himself into Cloud. He stopped half way when Cloud squeezed his eyes shut and arched his back. The blonde gripped the pillow above his head and groaned from the pain. Zack rubbed Cloud's side and trailed his hand over his stomach. Cloud held out his hand for Zack's and Zack took it with a smile on his face. He watched Cloud's motions and when he started to relax, he continued to push into Cloud until he was fully inside his boyfriend. Cloud gritted his teeth and thrashed his head back and forth a few times, his chest heaving.

"Do you want to stop?" Zack asked, leaning forward so that he could kiss Cloud.

The blonde shook his head. "N-no," he breathed, "don't stop."

Zack smiled. He kissed Cloud again. "I love you," he whispered against Cloud's lips.

"Love you," Cloud panted, staring at Zack through half lidded eyes.

Zack felt his heart flutter. He heard Cloud groan softly and chuckled. He moved his hips back and Cloud moaned. Zack began to thrust his hips back and forth, still holding Cloud's hand. A few times, Cloud would squeeze his hand and it would feel like his bones were breaking. However, he knew that Cloud wasn't strong enough to break his hand. Still, it worried him that Cloud was in pain and he stopped moving his hips back and forth. Cloud whimpered and looked up at Zack. He writhed against Zack, wanting his boyfriend to continue what he was doing. Zack shook his head and smiled. He continued to rock his hips against Cloud's, kissing his lips.

Cloud felt himself coming close to his high point. He whimpered Zack's name over and over until his legs started to shake. His hips started to thrust with Zack's and he found himself screaming as he climaxed. His whole body shuddered and he let his head fall to the side. He heard Zack groan loudly and felt him collapse over him. Cloud wrapped his arms around Zack, playing with his hair. Sweat mingled with sweat and Zack kissed Cloud's lips.

Zack smiled. "How was that?" he asked.

Cloud blushed. "Okay," he answered.

Zack pouted. "Just _okay_," he said.

Cloud blushed again and giggled. He pulled Zack down for another kiss and sighed. "It was wonderful," he said, smiling.

Zack chuckled and kissed Cloud's forehead. "You're so cute," he said. The blonde groaned. "Cloud, if you don't believe me, I will ask everyone tomorrow at lunch."

This didn't seem to do anything to Cloud because he just shrugged. "Go ahead, I don't care. I'm not cute," he added.

"Should I call Zell?" Zack asked, smirking.

Cloud lifted an eyebrow. "Why would you have to call Zell?" he asked.

"He can list many reasons why you're so cute," Zack answered, kissing Cloud's nose.

Cloud groaned and sighed. "You're no help, Zack."

Zack smiled. "I think I helped you out a lot," he said. "You're not even concerned about studying for finals."

Cloud's face went white. It was as if he had seen a ghost or the most horrifying thing in the world. Zack chuckled and shook his head. He rolled off of Cloud when the blonde jumped up. Cloud started pacing Zack's room. He looked at his boyfriend on the bed, smiling at him.

"Zack," he whined, "how could you do this to me?" He watched as his boyfriend stood up, grimacing at something and looking down. Cloud followed his gaze and watched his boyfriend pull off the condom. He groaned and shook his head, covering his eyes.

Zack threw the condom away in the small wastebasket. He walked over to Cloud and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist. Zack kissed Cloud's hands and nuzzled them away with his nose. Cloud groaned again. "Hey," he said, "you're the one that wanted me to make love to you," he pointed out, making Cloud groan even louder. Zack chuckled. He kissed Cloud's lips.

Cloud slapped his arm. "Yeah, but you _knew_ that I had to study." Zack chuckled. "Zack," Cloud whined again, slapping Zack's arm again. He groaned. "What am I going to do with you?"

Zack smiled. "Hopefully, something hot," he teased. Cloud slapped him again. "Ouch, if you keep doing that, my arm is going to fall off."

Cloud smiled a little sympathetically. He wrapped his arms around Zack's neck. "You deserve having your arm fall off," he said. Zack pouted. Cloud kissed those puppy lips and stood on his tiptoes to reach Zack better.

Zack pulled away and kissed Cloud's neck. "I think we should get dressed before we get interrupted," he said.

Cloud blushed, realizing that they were both naked. He pulled away from Zack and searched for his pants, bending over to pick them up. He thought he heard Zack purr and turned to look at his boyfriend. Zack just shook his head and smiled. Cloud put his legs into his boxers and pulled them up. He saw Zack staring at him predatorily. "What?" he asked.

Zack sighed. "You just don't realize how hot you are," he purred, walking over to Cloud. He wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, pinching a butt cheek.

"I thought I was _cute_," Cloud said, wrinkling his nose. Zack laughed and kissed him. "Zack, make up your mind."

"You're just too adorable," he answered. Cloud sighed. "Cloud, face it, I find you attractive and I'm going to call you cute or adorable, hot or sexy; either way, you're still my Chocobo," he said, kissing Cloud's cheek.

Cloud groaned. "I thought that name was lost."

Zack chuckled. "Nope," he said, shaking his head, "I'll always call you Chocobo."

* * *

Hehe, there's your sex scene that I promised about two chapters ago... HEY I'M ALIVE!

Oh and just recently I added a line break so if there's a random line break, sorry. I don't think that there is one though. Grr..

It's not that I'm losing track of the days...it's just that a few more chapters and you guys will be caught up to where I'm writing... Oops! Better get that stupid writer's block out of my head.

And as far as my prom goes...I'm about to say F**K IT! I don't know yet... I have until Saturday to decide, or Friday really. Whatever...

There's my update!


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter Thirty-Eight**

Zack mentally cursed at the bubble sheet on his desk. He had to erase a few because he lost track of what question he was on. The first four or five letters of the alphabet looked up at him, mocking him. He scribbled the _A_, not knowing a better answer. He looked up at the other students in his class. Half of them weren't even paying that much attention to the test, they were either staring at the clock or trying to balance their pencil on their nose. Zack sighed and turned his attention back to the stupid answer sheet. He had to finish the test before class ended. If he didn't, he would have to turn the paper in, answers or no answers.

Zack groaned as he was only two questions away from finishing the test. His leg started to bounce underneath the table. The question that he had read over and over was something that Cloud had explained to him before. Damn it how did that go again? He remembered something about a war and…

He filled in letter _C_ and felt his leg hit the table. He bit his lip and looked up at the clock. _Shit_, he thought. Class was almost over and he was almost done with his test. He started to fret, remembering what Tiffany had told him two days ago. If he didn't do well with his finals, then he wouldn't be able to see Cloud for the whole summer. The thought of not being able to see Cloud for the whole summer killed him inside. Not being able to see Cloud right now was making him antsy. He scribbled over a random letter, not caring which as the bell rang.

A crowd of students walked up to the teacher's desk to make a pile of their papers. Zack gave her the papers, sighing to himself as he quickly ran out of the classroom. He ran down the halls and stopped by Cloud's locker, knowing that his blonde boyfriend would have to go this way. When he saw a familiar blonde head walking towards, he felt his heart rise and smiled. Cloud smiled back at him and ran up to him. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist and squeezed him tightly in his arms.

Cloud squeaked. "Zack," he said, "I can't breathe."

Zack let go of him and almost dropped Cloud. "Sorry," he murmured. Zack then groaned and hit his head against Cloud's locker. "Ouch," he whined, "Cloud, I can't do it."

"What?" Cloud asked, giving Zack that innocent look that made Zack squirm.

The older male groaned. He looked down at Cloud and ran his thumb over Cloud's bottom lip. "I miss seeing you in class all day," he said. "I want to see you blush to every stupid thing that I do." Cloud blushed then. "Hey, don't do that," he whined, bouncing up and down.

Cloud smiled. "Zack, you're such an idiot," he said. "I'll see you at lunch," he added when students in the halls started to run in the direction towards their next class. Cloud stood on his tiptoes and gave Zack a quick kiss before running off.

Zack felt his heart melt and smiled, lazily walking to his next class. He was happy that he had taken finals in this class the day before. Otherwise, he would be writing down stupid answers and only shading the bubbles marked with a _C_. As his classmates around him relaxed or talked with their friends, Zack found himself daydreaming about Cloud. He imagined what it would be like when school would be over tomorrow. Thoughts of giving Cloud a special gift ran through his mind and he smiled. Zell must have noticed his goofy grin because he waved his hand in front of Zack's face.

"Zack," he said, "are you still alive in there." Zell tapped his finger against Zack's forehead.

Zack brushed his hand away. "I'm fine," he said.

Zell grinned at him. "Thinking about a certain blonde," he asked.

"Yeah," Zack said, nodding. He smiled.

Zell chuckled. "What are you two going to do over the summer?"

Zack shrugged. "I don't know. I'm giving him that you-know-what tomorrow after school is over." Zack smiled and shook his head. "I want to take him somewhere, but I never know where to take him."

"Zack, you're supposed to be the dating expert," Zell scolded.

"Cloud's difficult, though," Zack said.

Zell chuckled. "That must mean that you guys will be together forever," he said.

"Why do you say that?" Zack asked.

"I don't know," Zell shrugged. "You've always acted so casual with everyone else, but you act as if the world will come to and end if you don't take Cloud somewhere special."

"Maybe," Zack said. He groaned and looked at the clock hanging above the classroom door. "I can't wait until lunch," he said.

Zell wrinkled his nose. "Zack, the lunch ladies are taking the last two days off and they're serving stupid sack lunches."

Zack smiled. "I'm not excited about the food," he said.

"For once," Zell thought out loud.

Zack pouted. He started to say something to Zell but the bell rang. That sound was probably the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. Well, at the moment it was. He ran out of the room, leaving Zell dazzled. Zack ran to the room that he knew Cloud was in and waited, watching students walk out with annoyed looks on their faces. His heart lifted when a certain blonde came out, rubbing the front of his head. Zack smiled and came up from behind him, wrapping his arms around his waist and picking him up. Cloud squeaked, protesting by yelling Zack's name and begging him to put him down. Zack shook him a little in his arms as he gave him a bear hug.

"Zack," Cloud said, his voice croaking. "I can't…breathe…"

Zack let go of Cloud. "I missed you so much," he said.

Cloud sighed, rubbing his head. "Zack," he said, "I don't know about you sometimes."

His boyfriend pouted. Zack saw Cloud rubbing his finger against his forehead rather hard. He grabbed Cloud's hand away from his head and kissed them. "Are you okay, Baby?" he asked.

The blonde nodded, giving Zack a forced smiled. "Yeah, I just have a big headache."

Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's shoulders and stroked the back of his head. He heard Cloud sigh into the feeling and put his head against Zack's chest. Zack kissed the top of Cloud's forehead and said, "Let's go to lunch."

They intertwined their fingers together, swinging their hands slightly as they walked to the cafeteria. Cloud inched closer to Zack if it was possible and breathed in his scent. Zack stroked his thumb over Cloud's hand and smiled. He looked at his little blonde and wondered if he would be able to hang out tonight after school. _Probably not_, he mused. As they entered the cafeteria, they saw that the lunch line was pretty long. Zack groaned, leading Cloud over to their table.

Yuffie was pouting that she didn't get enough to eat in her stupid bag. Zell laughed at her as she scowled at the small carton of milk. She ranted to the whole table, not bothering to see if anyone was listening to her. Zack looked over at Cloud, frowning when he saw that the blonde had his head against the cold top of the table. He rubbed Cloud's back, trying to do his best to soothe him. He leaned forward and kissed Cloud's earlobe, earning a small squeak from the blonde.

"I'm packing us a lunch tomorrow," Zack whispered in Cloud's ear. He thought he saw a smile, but wasn't sure because Cloud was hiding behind his blonde spikes. Zack took the effort to brush them aside, either smoothing them back or tucking them behind the boy's ear.

Cloud groaned. "Zack," he whined, "Stop, you're tickling."

Zack smiled. "You're so cute," he said.

"Get a room, you two," Yuffie yelled.

The moment between them was ruined. Cloud blushed hid behind his hair. Zack scowled at the girl. Zell chuckled.

"They have one, Yuffie," he said.

"Not anymore," Zack said, searching for Cloud's hand underneath the table. Cloud smiled and grabbed Zack's hand, his heart fluttering.

"You're going to be in normal classes now, right?" Zell asked.

Zack nodded. "Yup," he said, squeezing Cloud's hand. Everyone else soon joined them at the table, loathing the idea of their sack lunches.

"Zack," Yuffie said, "did you give Cloud that one thing yet?"

He gave her a look. "No, Yuffie, shut up," he said between gritted teeth.

Cloud looked up at his boyfriend suspiciously. "What thing?" he asked.

Zack shook his head. "You'll find out tomorrow," he said.

Cloud felt his heart rise. Zack was giving him something tomorrow. He blushed and tried to hide himself in Zack's arm. Zack smiled and held Cloud close to him, kissing the side of his head. Cloud closed his eyes, trying to think of what Zack was going to give him.

* * *

When school had ended, Cloud felt very anxious and nervous at the same time. He had the urge to jump up and down like a little bunny rabbit, but didn't want to humiliate himself. He felt like the whole world was rushing at him and Zack was the only one that could make it stop. His heart pounded on the car ride to Zack's house. Every so often, it felt like knives were touching his skin, pricking him softly with their cold blades. He wanted to cry, but then he wanted to reach out to the feeling. Cloud couldn't tell if it was a good or a bad feeling, but he had assumed that it was good, since it happened just about every time he looked at Zack.

Cloud was now sitting on his boyfriend's bed with his legs crossed, watching his boyfriend carefully. "Zack, why can't you just tell me what you're going to give me?" he asked.

Zack chuckled and shook his head. "I told you that you'll find out tomorrow."

Cloud groaned. "Zack," he whined, "I want to know now."

Zack sat beside Cloud and kissed his cheek. "You'll find out tomorrow," he repeated.

Cloud whined again. "Zack, please, I want to know what it is." Cloud flung himself at Zack in a surprise hug. "I will let you do every dirty thing to me if you do," he said with a blush.

Zack grinned. "I can already do that," he replied. He wrapped his arms around the blonde and sat him in his lap. His arms locked securely around him and he kissed the side of Cloud's head. "Do you really want to know that badly?" he asked and Cloud nodded. Zack considered and sighed, shaking his head. "Get up," he muttered and Cloud did so with a smile plastered all over his face. He walked over to his dresser and dug through his socks until he pulled out the familiar box. He hid it in his large hands and walked over to Cloud. "If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do this right," he said, "but don't take it the wrong way."

Cloud smiled and bounced on the bed. "Just hurry, Zack," he said.

Zack chuckled. He lowered himself down to one knee and saw Cloud's face go blank. He shook his head. "No, not that," he answered Cloud's unasked question. The blonde's face lowered to its original stare and he waited for Zack to continue. "Cloud, I think that it's safe to say that you're the only lover for me," he said, "and that's why I want to give you this. This is how I feel about you and so much more. Cloud," he took a deep sigh, "I love you." He lifted the box and a ring glared in the light.

"Zack, is that…?" Cloud asked, pointing at the ring. Zack nodded. Cloud sighed and shook his head. "Zack, I thought I told you not to…"

Zack pushed a finger to Cloud's lips. "I had a little help," he interrupted.

"Well, I would hope so, this is really ex-" Cloud didn't get to finish the word _expensive_ for Zack had smashed their lips together.

"Can we forget about the price?" Zack asked with his nose and forehead against Cloud's. Zack took the ring out of the little box and slipped it onto Cloud's right middle finger. "Don't ask me why I'm putting in on that finger because even I don't know," he said and then asked, "Does it matter what finger it goes on?"

Cloud shrugged. "I really don't know, but I don't care."

Zack smiled and wrapped his arms around Cloud. "You like it," he asked and Cloud nodded. "That's good, I was afraid that you would hate me or something for buying you a ring."

"Why would I hate you for buying me a ring?" Cloud asked. "I've actually kind of wanted one ever since Aerith came to school that day with one."

Zack smiled again. "Well, I thought that you might think it's too girly or something, but I'm glad that you like it."

Cloud smiled. "It's your entire fault anyway," Cloud said and added, "I didn't start getting girly until I met you." He squeaked when Zack started tickling him. "Ah, hey, Zack…"

"You're so fun to play with," Zack teased and kissed Cloud on the lips.

The blonde pouted. "I am not," he mumbled.

Zack laughed. "You are too," he replied. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud and pushed Cloud down on his mattress. He started kissing the blonde's neck, receiving small mewls. A smile curled on his lips and he pulled away, looking down at his boyfriend smiling more. Cloud's arms wrapped around his neck and he kissed him once more. "So what do you want to do this summer?" the older teen asked.

A small blush tinted Cloud's cheeks. He groaned when he heard Zack chuckle. "I don't care," he said, "just as long as you're with me."

"Aw, Cloud, you're so sweet," Zack teased. Cloud groaned and lightly hit Zack's arm. "Does being with me include kissing?"

Cloud smiled and kissed Zack's cheek. "I'm always going to kiss you when I see you," he said with a blush.

Zack grinned. "Are you going to give me a blowjob?"

Cloud's face turned bright red. "I doubt it. I'm not good at those things, Zack," Cloud whined.

Another grin appeared across Zack's face. He kissed Cloud's bottom lip and his eyes seemed to almost glow. "I disagree with that," Zack mentioned. Cloud groaned, making Zack laugh. "Please tell me that you'll at least let me have my way with you once in a while, though?" he begged.

The blonde smiled and giggled a little. "Zack, you don't have to ask for that."

"Yes I do, otherwise it'd be rape."

"No, just…surprise sex," Cloud corrected.

Zack grinned. "You'd love that."

* * *

Cloud was bored. There was no more studying to do or homework that needed to be done. The only thing he had to do was sit in his bedroom and listen to music or daydream about Zack. Daydreaming about Zack always caused his heart to squeeze and made his stomach feel tingly. There were times when his fingers itched to just text or call the older teenager and see how he was doing. And then there were times he didn't have to daydream about his boyfriend, because Zack would either invite him to come over, like he had just done moments ago, or, in Cloud's opinion, magically appear at his doorstep.

Zack was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head and a leg bent. He watched as Cloud paced his room. A smile came to his face as he saw his boyfriend's puzzled look. Cloud could be so cute and not even know it. Zack chuckled and looked up at his ceiling, thinking of something that they could do together.

"We could always make love," Zack said out of nowhere. He looked up to see his boyfriend's face and grinned.

"Zack, as much as I love you and your hot body, that is the least thing on my mind right now," the blonde replied.

Zack pouted. "Aw, why not?" he whined.

Cloud sighed. "It's too hot," he complained.

The weather was indeed to hot, reaching up to almost ninety degrees. Cloud was wearing his regular blue jeans, but that was only because he didn't have any shorts to wear. Zack had on camouflage khaki shorts and a black T-shirt. The blonde had to admit that Zack looked sexy in camouflage, but writhing in the bed together would have to wait for another day.

Cloud began to snoop through Zack's room, since he didn't know what else to do. He told himself that it wasn't really snooping if Zack was right there with him in the same room, but he still felt as if he'd get caught doing something wrong. He came to Zack's closet and started looking at the tattered jeans that Zack usually wore. Cloud pursed his lips and let out a big sigh. He looked down and saw a black fabricated case in the shape of a guitar. He went to his knees to get a closer look and poked the bag. There was a guitar inside of it. Cloud felt his heart rise to his throat.

"Uh, Zack," he called from the closet.

"Yeah," Zack answered.

"Can you come here for a second?" Cloud asked and heard his boyfriend get off of the bed and his padded footsteps walking over to where Cloud was. The blonde looked up at his boyfriend and asked, "What's this?"

Zack's eyes widened. "That's my guitar," he replied, kneeling down beside Cloud and grabbed the bag. Cloud followed him over to the bed and watched as he unzipped the bag and pulled out a black and white guitar.

"I didn't know that you knew how to play," Cloud said.

"I never mentioned it," the older teen replied. "I probably forgot every lesson I learned, too."

Cloud smiled. "I can't help you on those lessons," he said, mentioning their tutoring of what started their relationship.

Zack chuckled. "Rick was actually the one that taught me how to play." Zack sighed and put the guitar back in its case. "Who knows, maybe I'll write you something some day," he suggested, kissing Cloud's cheek.

A small blush appeared across Cloud's face. "Zack, I changed my mind."

"About what," Zack asked.

Cloud pushed his boyfriend down onto the bed and brought their lips together. Zack grinned into the kiss and wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist. "I want you do those things to me," he said with another blush.

Zack laughed. "The dirty things," he suggested and Cloud nodded. "Okay, but you're going to complain about how hot it is."

"You're already hot enough for me," Cloud teased, feeling his face get warm. He smashed his lips against Zack's and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck. Zack pushed Cloud onto his back and smiled. "What?" the blond asked.

"I love you," Zack mumbled, attacking Cloud's ear.

Cloud giggled a little and pushed Zack away until the older teen stopped, but Cloud knew that he wasn't done yet. He smiled at Zack as his boyfriend's fingers started to play with the button and zipper of Cloud's pants. "I love you, too."

* * *

The End.

Soooooo... I'm sorry that this took so damn long, but I'm at MAJOR AUTHOR'S BLOCK write now! So, until I either come up with another good story, I'll be pretty much DEAD to FanFiction.

So, as for all my rantings about school and crushes, UGGGGHGHHGHGHGHG! Didn't go to prom (got sick, hehe), Still haven't told the boy that I liked him (even though my brother added him on Facebook for me, gr), I'm not sure if he has a gf or not, damn relationship status won't say, AND our dog died. :'(

Anyway, there's my "DRAMA" rant. Now for the story:

I think it's really weird that I ended with ILOVEYOU's after all the freakin'-million I used. Oh well. And it's kinda funny how CLOUD is the one that mentions "surprise sex" instead of Zack mentioning it. I don't know. Had to rant on something... It's the last freakin' CHAPTER! (*party*) Really, there was going to be 2 more chapters but like I said, AUTHOR's BLOCK!

Despite my long rambling, please leave me a review. AND I WILL GO PLAY FINAL FANTASY X-2, which I hope to make a Story of someday... (hehe)


	39. Epilogue

Epilogue

Well, it was the moment that Zack and Cloud had been waiting for. Since Tiffany was both the principal of the school, and Zack's aunt, she was able to tell them what Zack's finals had ended up to be. The young couple sat on the couch, waiting for Tiffany to get home as the school staff had one of their meetings about what they should do for next year. Zack had his arm wrapped around Cloud's waist, squeezing him a little too tightly.

"Zack," Cloud whined, "I can't breathe and I think my ribs are cracking."Zack loosened his grip on Cloud and laughed innocently. "Sorry," he apologized, "it's just that I'm nervous about finding out what the results are going to be. I don't know if they were teasing, but Rick and Tiffany said that I wouldn't be able to see you for the whole summer if I did bad on my finals."

Cloud smiled at his boyfriend. "Zack, I'm sure that you did fine. I didn't just tutor you for nothing," he pointed out, "which even _I_ would be disappointed if you failed because that either means I'm a bad student-teacher or you've got ADD."

"I don't have ADD or ADHD," Zack pouted, sticking his lip out. "I just have Cloud-DD."

"Cloud-DD," Cloud asked, "what is _Cloud_-DD."

"Cloud deficit disorder," Zack answered.

That made Cloud blush a little. "Zack, I don't even think that exists."

"Yes it does, it has to," the older teen argued. "You know it has to, I see it everyday at school when other teens are so into each other that nothing else around them matters. So I have Cloud-DD, in which I'm distracted by only you and what you do and if your name comes up."

"Okay, but what if it's not me," Cloud suggested, "what if it's a _cloud _in the sky?"

"Then I'll still be distracted because I'll think of the sky and then I'll think of your eyes, which are fascinating and magnificent just like the sky."

Cloud smiled. "Big words for a puppy like yourself," he teased.

"Oh," Zack pouted, "you're going to get it later."

"That's only if you did good on your finals," Cloud pointed out.

"What," Zack asked, almost horrified, "you're telling me you actually _agree_ with them?" Cloud nodded. "Okay, I see how much you love me."

Cloud laughed lightly at Zack's reaction. "You don't even know the rest of how much I love you," he muttered, leaning forward and kissing Zack's earlobe.

Zack grinned and pulled Cloud onto his lap, kissing him on the lips. Their lips moved against each others, making Cloud hum and Zack beg for entrance to Cloud's mouth with his tongue. Cloud opened his mouth slowly and Zack took the opportunity to delve his tongue into the blonde's hot mouth. Cloud moaned a bit at the feeling and straddled Zack's waist with his knees framing his boyfriend's hips. He rubbed his pelvis against Zack's, making the older teen groan. Cloud smiled in amusement that he could make Zack feel this way.

Cloud felt their position change as he was pinned between the couch and Zack's body. Zack began to viciously kiss Cloud's neck, working his way down to the top of Cloud's pants. He lifted his boyfriend's shirt just a bit to expose his stomach and started to kiss around the soft flesh. Cloud squirmed and wrapped his legs around Zack's waist, pulling his boyfriend closer to his body. He laughed a little when Zack began tickling his sides and slapped Zack on the back of the head. Zack only smiled and rose up to kiss Cloud's lips, not paying attention to their surroundings. They were too into each other to notice that Rick's car had pulled into the driveway. Cloud was too infatuated by Zack's kisses that he didn't hear the front door open. Zack was too caught up in the moment of feeling Cloud's body against his that he didn't notice his two guardians watching them make out on their couch.

That is, they didn't notice any of this until Rick cleared his throat and said, "Please don't tell me I'm going to have to put plastic on that thing."

They pulled apart then, amusing the two adults standing before them. Rick grinned and chuckled as he walked off into the kitchen. Tiffany sighed a little, but she smiled at the couple. "Don't you two start doing anything intimate until I tell you Zack's results," she said, following Rick.

Cloud blushed heavily. Zack just smirked and wrapped his arm around Cloud's shoulders, looking over at the two grownups. He leaned close to Cloud's ear and whispered, "Cross your fingers, if I did good then that means we'll get to move this to my room." Cloud blushed again and hit Zack's bicep.

"Are we having a lover's quarrel?" Tiffany asked, sitting on the recliner next to the couch.

Zack grinned and kissed Cloud on the cheek. "No Ma'am," he replied, kissing Cloud again.

"Okay you two," Rick called out, "none of because we all know that Zack failed."

Zack pouted. "How would you know if I failed or not?" he asked.

"He's kidding," Tiffany said and held up a yellow file. Zack felt his heart drop six feet. It might as well have been six feet because that was how deep you built a grave and if he failed, Zack would've rather died than go the summer without Cloud. "Now," she continued, "let's see how Zackary did." Zack flinched a little at her pronouncing his full name but he ignored it. She opened the file and pulled out a piece of paper, looking it over with a serious look on her face.

"What," Zack asked, "how'd I do?"

Tiffany smiled. "I guess you did alright," she answered, handing the piece of paper over to Zack.

Zack looked it over just the way Tiffany had done before a smile spread across his face. He hugged Cloud tightly, almost squeezing the life out of the poor blonde. "Hell yeah I did alright," he shouted. "It's not an _A_, or even a _B_, but it's a _C_ and that's a passing grade," he blabbered. Cloud smiled, holding back a giggle as he watched Zack jump up and down and run around the house a few times, waving the piece of paper in the air. It was almost as if he were yelling, "I did it, I've defeated all of you son of a bitches!" like Cloud was watching him play a video game.

"Damn," Rick muttered, "I guess that means he gets to have his little Cloud." Cloud blushed at Rick's teasing and squealed in surprise when Zack hugged him tightly.

"C'mon Cloud," Zack said excitedly, grabbing the blonde's hand and leading him towards his room.

Rick smiled in amusement and called after them, "Safety first, you two!"

Cloud's face couldn't get any hotter. Once they were in Zack's room, he hid his face in Zack's shoulder. Zack kissed the top of Cloud's head and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, lifting his chin up so that he could look into Cloud's eyes.

"You're so beautiful when you're blushing," Zack commented.

Cloud turned his head away from Zack. "I am not," he pouted.

"Hey," Zack whined, "that's my pout. You can't steal my pout."

Cloud giggled and stuck out his tongue. "Well I just did," he said.

Zack grinned devilishly and tackled Cloud onto his bed, planting his face with a thousand kisses. Cloud squirmed a bit, protesting against Zack's endless kissing even though he liked his boyfriend's lips on his. It was just too hard to kiss Zack back when the older teen was smothering him. Zack realized this and sat up a little. He grinned down at the blonde and kissed him on the cheek. Cloud lifted himself up on his arms, his nose merely inches away from Zack's.

"What do you want to do?" Cloud asked nervously. Seeing the wide grin on his boyfriend's face made him a bit queasy. "Okay Zack, now you're just starting to creep me out."

Zack stuck out his lip and pouted. "I was just going to ask you if you wanted anything to drink," Zack replied. "What are you thinking about, pervert?"

Cloud's eyebrow struck up. "Who's the pervert?" he teased.

Zack grinned and pinned Cloud to the bed. "We should celebrate," he suggested, earning a cautious look from the blonde.

"By doing what?" Cloud asked, eyeing Zack carefully.

"I don't know, we should go out somewhere," Zack said and then he looked at Cloud with a playful grin. "You were thinking of something dirty, weren't you?" Cloud blushed and Zack laughed. "You were," he pointed out.

Cloud gently pushed Zack away. "I was not," he pouted.

"Yeah you were," Zack said, "c'mon, admit it. My little Chocobo has a dirty mind."

Cloud groaned. "Well that's your fault," he said. He ignored Zack's taunting and changed the subject. "Where did you want to go?"

Zack shrugged. "Anywhere," he answered, "just somewhere where I can stick my head out the window and shout 'I did it, I'm going to be a senior' until some old lady calls the cops."

Cloud laughed. "Um okay, but I don't want the cops involved, and I am most certainly not going with you if you stick your head out the window and shout _that_."

Zack smiled and kissed Cloud on the lips. "Okay, we'll just go drive somewhere and make out in the backseat." He earned a slap from Cloud. "Owie," he whined, "what was that for?"

"We are _not_ making out in the backseat, either."

Zack groaned. "Okay fine, I'll just text everyone about it and we'll meet at the mall, better?" he asked and Cloud nodded.

* * *

To be honest, Cloud really did want to go out and celebrate with Zack while they had a chance of being alone together. However, it had been almost three weeks after school had ended and he'd only seen his and Zack's friends once or twice.

"He seems happy," Aerith pointed out to Cloud as they watched Zell and Zack mess around with each other.

"Did you two get laid before you met us here?" Yuffie asked, putting her hands on her hips and pursing her lips at Cloud.

Cloud shook his head, blushing a little. "No, we didn't do anything. He's just happy that he got at least average grades for his finals," he explained. "I guess his aunt told him that if he didn't get good grades then he'd be grounded from seeing me for a majority of the summer."

"Oh wow," Aerith said, her eyes widening a little.

"What?" Cloud asked.

"Nothing," Tifa answered for her, "we're just trying to imagine what you would be like without having Zack to cling onto all the time."

Cloud frowned. "I don't cling to Zack," he said.

"Oh sure," Yuffie huffed, "we see you Cloud. Ever since you guys started dating you two have been nothing but clinging to each other as if it's the end of the world."

"He's my first boyfriend," Cloud explained, "of course I'm going to hold onto him a little more than I should, but that doesn't make me clingy."

"Tell that to the ring around your neck," Tifa said.

Cloud's hand rose up to grab the ring that Zack had given him the day school had ended. He hadn't put the ring on his finger because he thought it'd be too girly. So he asked just about everyone until Aerith gave him a small chain and he hung the ring on that, wearing it around his neck instead. Zack hadn't said anything about it, and when Cloud had asked if he was upset, his boyfriend just smiled and kissed him on the lips. Cloud had asked the question again at some point, but Zack only said that it didn't matter how Cloud wore it, just as long as he had it with him.

Aerith changed the subject, "How have you been, Cloud? I feel like we haven't seen each other in a long time."

"Okay, I guess," he said with a shrug. "How are you doing with Vincent?"

The girl blushed a little. "We're doing good," she answered. "Actually, I'm trying to convince my parents to let me move in with him once I turn eighteen."

"Really," Cloud asked, "how's that going?"

She sighed. "Not so good," she said. "It's not that they don't like Vincent, because they do, except for the fact that he's a lot older than me. They said something about not wanting me to start too early in life and wait until after graduation to start a life with him."

"They're probably afraid that you'll turn into some wild child," Tifa suggested, smiling.

"Well, having you as a friend doesn't help much," Aerith pointed out, smiling back.

"I could just see it though," Tifa said, "Aerith running around town, entering all the clubs with her miniskirt and low-cut shirt with her stomach showing and a bellybutton ring dangling as she dances in the middle of a crowd of guys."

"Like that'll ever happen," Aerith said with a sigh.

"Hey, I told myself that Cloud would never lose his virginity," Tifa pointed out, "but look at him now, he's had sex at least twenty times!"

Cloud looked at her with his mouth agape and eyebrow raised. "Try two or three," he modified.

"You little slut," Yuffie teased just as Zack and Zell walked over to them.

"Hey," Zell protested, wrapping his arm around the smaller blonde, "Cloud's not a slut."

Yuffie squealed. "Ah-ha!" she exclaimed, pointing her finger at the two, "I knew it, you guys are having a threesome!"

"What," Zell said in surprise, "no we're not."

"Yes you are," Tifa argued.

"No, Cloud is Zack's boyfriend," he explained, "not Zell and Zack's boyfriend."

Cloud blushed at that last part. He mentally cursed himself for thinking of what it'd be like if he were with Zell and Zack. He felt a weight lift off of him and noticed that Zell was now chasing after Yuffie and Tifa. A small laugh bubbled in his throat and he soon found himself in Zack's arms.

"Cloud, sometimes I don't know about the friends that we have," he said, kissing the top of Cloud's head.

The blonde smiled, swallowing thickly. "Yeah," he replied, "me too."

* * *

"Zack," Cloud said, inching closer to Zack and resting on his shoulder. Zack hummed a reply and wrapped his arm around Cloud, rocking him back and forth. "Do you think that I'm…clingy?"

Zack's eyebrow shifted upward. "Didn't we already have a conversation like this?" he asked and added, "Why, did Yuffie and Tifa say something?"

"They're always saying something," Cloud answered with a defeated sigh.

"Just ignore them, babe," Zack replied, kissing the side of Cloud's head. "It doesn't matter what they think."

Cloud shook his head and looked up at the sky, a million stars staring back down at him. He shivered a bit and inched closer to Zack as he possibly could. "I know, but the still hurts." He could feel goose bumps growing on his arms, one after the other poking out of his skin. _Why didn't I bring a jacket_, he cursed himself, rubbing his arms and shifting on the hood of Zack's car.

Zack chuckled a bit and pulled his jacket off, handing it over to Cloud. Cloud hesitated a bit before taking it and slipping it over his shoulders, warming his arms with the sleeves. He looked at Zack, a bit concerned. "Aren't you cold?" he asked.

Zack shrugged. "A bit," he answered, "but you're more fragile than I am."

Cloud smiled, his teeth chattering. Why did summer nights have to be so cold? He sighed and pressed his side against Zack's. "I still have that motorcycle jacket you gave me," he mentioned, smiling. Zack smiled back and kissed the side of his head. "What did you ever do with your motorcycle?"

"It's been in the garage," he answered. "Why, do you want to go for a ride?" Cloud shrugged, nodding a little. Zack chuckled and laid back. "I never thought that you'd be the one to like going fast."

The blond shook his head. "You changed me."

Zack grinned, kissing Cloud on the forehead.

* * *

Surprise! Well, I found this buried somewhere in my computer...rotting with all of the other stories. And...well... I JUST HAD TO UPLOAD IT! I know there's not really much to it, but I still wanted to upload it. It just seemed like something I should do.

Also, I've recently posted another story that is boy/girl. I know, it shocked me too. But anyway, I've had enough with crush drama - I no longer have interest in the crush I've been rambling about the last few chapters. Long story. Oh, and I graduated high school. Yay?

I've also started to write a sequel to this. It will make up for the drama that I didn't write in this one, be more sexy, and ... Well, I don't want to give anything away just yet. ;)

So sit tight with me. Hopefully I'll be writing again. I have one tiny spark of writing and maybe it will grow.


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